China’s recent global energy policy suggests an acquisitive attitude to deal-making, coming as it does fourteen years after a failed high profile 2005 bid for the U.S. giant Unocal. Our study of 726 global oil and gas mergers and acquisitions for the period 2006 to 2012 reveals that by entering risky oil regions, China is executing deals globally and doing them (relatively) well. By median, Chinese state backed energy giants paid 6.5 percent less than comparable energy dealmakers. Findings suggest that by undertaking deals in risky countries, typically those with high trade barriers to entry and significant political risk, China achieves observably more favourable deal pricing terms, achieving acquisitions at significant discount.
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