Abstract U.S. farmer cooperatives are increasing in size but decreasing in number because of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity. However, the empirical literature on cooperative M&A activity is scarce and has only considered capital structure characteristics as possible explanations. We contribute to the existing literature by exploring the relationship of capital capacity, spatial competition, and strategic orientation to M&A activity by the largest 1000 U.S. farmer cooperatives in the 2014–2016 period. Using probit and negative binomial regressions, we find equity constraints did not inform recent M&A activity in the U.S. farmer cooperative sector. Rather, we find M&A activity increased in size and decreased in leverage. In addition, we find farmer cooperatives with larger market shares are less likely to pursue M&A activity, but proximity to other farmer cooperatives in the same sector increases the probability of external growth behavior. Also, farmer cooperatives which pursue differentiation are less likely to grow externally, suggesting recent M&As have been motivated by tangible as opposed to intangible asset acquisitions.

中文翻译：

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资本能力，空间竞争和战略取向对美国农民合作社并购的作用

摘要由于并购活动，美国农民合作社规模不断扩大，但数量却有所减少。但是，关于合作并购活动的经验文献很少，仅考虑资本结构特征作为可能的解释。通过探索2014-2016年间最大的1000家美国农民合作社的资本能力，空间竞争和战略定位与并购活动之间的关系，我们为现有文献做出了贡献。使用概率和负二项式回归，我们发现股权约束并不能为美国农民合作社部门最近的并购活动提供信息。相反，我们发现并购活动规模增加而杠杆作用降低。此外，我们发现拥有较大市场份额的农民合作社不太可能进行并购 一项活动，但与同一部门中其他农民合作社的临近增加了外部增长行为的可能性。另外，追求差异化的农民合作社在外部增长的可能性较小，这表明最近的并购活动是有形资产而不是无形资产收购的动力。