Prior studies suggest that an emerging economy (EE) firm’s shareholder value after an announcement of a cross-border acquisition (CBA) is influenced by its political connections in the home country. Such influences are, however, contingent upon contextual factors. This study examines the context-specific stock market responses to the CBA announcements of EE firms with varying domestic political connections. We find that the stock market responds positively to CBA announcement of politically well-connected firms, but this relationship depends upon firm ownership structures and domestic institutional contexts. Our findings shed light on the contingent value of political connections of EE firms at the time of CBA announcement.