M&As, Innovation and Market Power
HIGHLIGHTS
‣ Technological mergers and acquisitions (M&As) increase investors' market power by around 2% beyond standard M&As, with stronger effects concentrated among top R&D investors, US-based investors, and high-tech manufacturing investors.
‣ The increase in market power seems primarily driven by the consolidation of control over existing patents, limiting knowledge diffusion and making it harder for competitors to catch up.
‣ These findings support ongoing policy discussions on updating merger review regulations, as traditional concentration metrics may not fully capture competition risks posed by large technology firms.
‣ Technological assets and innovations are often embedded and masked within larger M&A deals. Separating the technology component of patents would allow regulators to assess competition concerns related to innovation while still allowing the acquisition to proceed.
‣ The analysis draws on a newly constructed firm-level dataset to provide a more systematic picture of technological M&As and market power.
MARTINEZ CILLERO Maria;
NAPOLITANO Lorenzo;
RENTOCCHINI Francesco;
SERI Cecilia;
ZAURINO Elena;
2026-02-12
European Commission
JRC145729
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC145729,
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