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This paper examines the relationship between a prime contractor's financial health and its mergers and acquisitions (M&A) spending in the defense industry. It aims to provide models that give the United States Department of Defense (DoD) indications of future M&A activity, informing decision-makers and contributing to ensuring competitive markets that benefit the consumer.

The study uses panel data regression models on 40 companies between 1985 and 2021. The company's financial health is assessed using industry-standard financial ratios (i.e. measures of profitability, efficiency, solvency and liquidity) while controlling for economic factors such as national productivity, defense budgets and firm size.

The results show a significant relationship between efficiency and M&A spending, indicating that companies with lower efficiency tend to spend more on M&As. However, there was no significant relationship between M&A spending and a company's profitability or solvency. These results were consistent with previous research and the study's hypotheses for profitability and solvency. However, the effect of liquidity was the opposite of the expected result, possibly due to the defense industry's different view on liquidity compared to previous research.

The paper provides insights into the relationship between a prime contractor's financial health and its M&A spending, a topic with limited research. The findings can inform policymakers and regulators on the industrial base's future M&A activity, ensuring competitive markets that benefit the consumer.

Valuers should independently assess market value. The purpose of this article is to analyze whether the valuation behavior remains independent when commissioned by publicly listed companies in Taiwan.

This study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data analysis was used to examine the estimated premium ratio and estimated divergent ratio with the independent sample t test and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test. To complement and validate the quantitative analysis, open-ended questionnaires were conducted, providing additional insights into the research findings.

The results showed that there is a significant difference in estimated valuations commissioned by representatives of buyers and sellers, and the estimated premium ratios commissioned by representatives of buyers were higher than those of sellers. Furthermore, the open-ended questionnaires results indicate that these findings may be influenced by clients for less experienced appraisers. However, for senior appraisers, this is seen as an action to gain a better understanding of the valuation purpose and always within a reasonable price range. In addition, client influence is not a static factor; it may transform into the valuer's behavior as the appraiser's experience grows and deepens.

It is difficult to obtain valuation reports commissioned by representatives of both buyers and sellers for the same property transactions. In this study, data were obtained from the Market Observation Post-System (MOPS) in Taiwan. As valuation reports could not be obtained, estimated valuations and transaction prices are used to calculate estimated premium ratio and estimated divergent ratios.

Previous investigations of the client effect have been conducted using qualitative methods including questionnaire surveys, in-depth interviews and experimental design. However, these studies are subject to moral hazard. This study may be the first study that has access to data on valuations for both buyers and sellers in such a formal setting.