•This study aims to answer the following research question: how have internationalization experience, cultural distance, and host country context characteristics moderated the relationship between full versus partial acquisition strategy and survival of foreign acquired units?•In general the probability of survival does not differ significantly between full and partial acquisitions.•The likelihood of survival in full, relative to partial acquisitions, is positively associated with the acquisition-specific experience, but inversely related to general international and target country experience.•The relationship between full acquisitions and survival of foreign acquired units is stronger if the acquisitions are made in culturally similar countries, in host countries that are less economically developed than home country, and in markets where the country risk has increased after entry. The high divestment rates of acquired foreign units indicate challenges connected to planning and management of foreign acquisitions. In this paper we analyze the moderating effect of internal and external variables on the relationship between acquirers’ ownership strategy and survival of acquired foreign units. We test our hypotheses on a sample of 1275 acquisitions conducted by Finnish firms in various countries during the period 1980–2005. The results indicate that the probability of survival does not differ significantly between full and partial acquisitions. We further find that the likelihood of survival in full, relative to partial acquisitions, is positively associated with the acquisition-specific experience, but inversely related to general international and target country experience. The results also reveal that the positive impact of full acquisitions is stronger if the acquisitions are made in culturally similar countries, in less developed economies, and in markets where the country risk has increased after entry.