Chair of
Mergers and Acquisitions
The Chair of Mergers and Acquisitions focuses its research and teaching activities on the broad area of corporate finance with a focus on mergers and acquisitions, investment banking, and corporate valuation.
Professor Dr. Aktas holds the Chair of Mergers and Acquisitions at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management since September 2013. He is also the co-director of the executive education program devoted to Mergers and Acquisitions at WHU. He previously worked at Skema Business School (France), EMLYON Business School (France), and Louvain School of Management (Université catholique de Louvain). Being interested in empirical corporate finance in general, Professor Dr. Aktas is known for his research articles on Mergers and Acquisitions published in leading international journals including the Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Economic Journal, Journal of Corporate Finance, and Journal of Banking & Finance. His research has been featured on the programs of leading international conferences, and quoted in widely read international media, such as the Financial Times, The New York Times, and Sueddeutsche Zeitung. He was a visiting researcher at the Anderson School of Management (UCLA, Los Angeles) in 2001–2002. Professor Dr. Aktas is also a member of the Supervisory Board of Pulcra Chemicals.
Recent research publications –
by Professor Dr. Nihat Aktas.
Corporate divestitures around acquisitions
Aktas, N., Baros, A., Croci, E. (2022), Journal of Corporate Finance, Vol. 73, Article no. 102189, 22 pages
Credit ratings and acquisitions
Aktas, N., Petmezas, D., Servaes, H., Karampatsas, N. (2021), Journal of Corporate Finance, Vol. 69, Article no. 101986, 21 pages
Executive compensation and deployment of corporate resources: evidence from working capital
Aktas, N., Croci, E., Ozbas, O., Petmezas, D. (2021), Review of Corporate Finance: RCF, Vol. 1 (1), pp. 43-80
Reductions in CEO career horizons and corporate policies
Aktas, N., Boone, A., Croci, E., Signori, A. (2021), Journal of Corporate Finance, Vol. 66, Article no. 101862, 21 pages
The role of internal M&A teams in takeovers
Aktas, N., Boone, A., Witkowski, A., Xu, G., Yurtoglu, B. (2021), Review of Finance, Vol. 25 (4), pp. 1047–1088
CEO duality, agency costs, and internal capital allocation efficiency
Aktas, N., Andreou, P., Karasamani, I., Philip, D. (2019), British Journal of Management: BJM, Vol. 30 (2), pp. 473-493
CEO overconfidence and the value of corporate cash holdings
Aktas, N., Louca, C., Petmezas, D. (2019), Journal of Corporate Finance, Vol. 54, pp. 85-106
Stock market development and the financing role of IPOs in acquisitions
Aktas, N., Andries, K., Croci, E., Özdakak, A. (2019), Journal of Banking & Finance, Vol. 98, pp. 25-38
She is mine: determinants and value effects of early announcements in takeovers
Aktas, N., Xu, G., Yurtoglu, B. (2018), Journal of Corporate Finance, Vol. 50, pp. 180-202
Selected research publications –
by Professor Dr. Nihat Aktas.
See more publications on Google Scholar & SSRN
Professor Dr.
Nihat Aktas
Chairholder
+49 (0)261 6509 224
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CV & Publications
Anja Ziegler
Personal Assistant
+49 (0)261 6509 221
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Talha Umar
Research Assistant
+49 (0)261 6509 223
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Andreas G. Zetzsche
Chair Affiliate
Former Group Head of M&A RWE AG, Essen
CV
Dr. Alexander Witkowski
Dissertation:
"Empirical Essays in Corporate Finance"
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Dr. Santo Centineo
Dissertation:
"Essays in Empirical Corporate Finance: Family Firms, Investment Decisions, and Performance"
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Dr. Ali Özdakak
Dissertation:
"Empirical Essays on Initial Public Offerings and Mergers & Acquisitions"
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Can Deniz Dogan
External Doctoral Student
+49 (0)261 6509 228
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Bachelor and Master courses –
as well as final theses.
- Corporate Finance, mandatory BSc course, 2nd semester
- Valuation and M&A, elective MiF course, 1st semester
- Mergers and Acquisitions, elective MiM course, 2nd semester
- Investment Banking, MBA
- Mergers & Acquisitions, MBA