We suggest that cultural distance exists at two different levels in cross-border acquisitions (CBAs), i.e., between the acquirer and the target and between the acquirer and the seller. Existing research has exclusively examined the effects of the cultural distance between the acquirer and the target (acquirer-target cultural distance), highlighting, for instance, an increase in conflicts and an inferior realization of synergies. In contrast, the potential effects of the cultural distance between the acquirer and the seller (acquirer-seller cultural distance) have not been studied. We find this problematic given that the acquirer-seller cultural distance is likely to affect CBA performance, albeit in a different manner. Specifically, we expect the acquirer-seller cultural distance to have a direct, positive and an indirect, negative performance effect driven by an increase in CBA completion time, i.e., the time between deal announcement and deal completion. Our results based on data on 875 CBAs show that acquirer-target cultural distance has a direct, negative effect on CBA performance. In contrast, acquirer-seller cultural distance has an indirect, negative performance effect (through increasing the completion time) and a direct, positive performance effect, resulting in an overall positive effect on post-acquisition performance.