Mergers and acquisitions research in finance and accounting: Past, present, and future Abstract This study presents an analysis of publication patterns and major themes in research on mergers and acquisitions in finance and accounting. We find that takeovers as mechanisms of governance, drivers of mergers, mechanisms of mergers, bank mergers, cross‐border mergers, shareholder wealth effects of mergers and related events, and the role of financial experts and ownership structure form major theme...