This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

Wealth Destruction on a Massive Scale? A Study of Acquiring-Firm Returns in the Recent Merger Wave

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
SARA B. MOELLER
FREDERIK P. SCHLINGEMANN
RENÉ M. STULZ

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

Acquiring-firm shareholders lost 12 cents around acquisition announcements per dollar spent on acquisitions for a total loss of $240 billion from 1998 through 2001, whereas they lost $7 billion in all of the 1980s, or 1.6 cents per dollar spent. The 1998 to 2001 aggregate dollar loss of acquiring-firm shareholders is so large because of a small number of acquisitions with negative synergy gains by firms with extremely high valuations. Without these acquisitions, the wealth of acquiring-firm shareholders would have increased. Firms that make these acquisitions with large dollar losses perform poorly afterward. Copyright 2005 by The American Finance Association.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6261.2005.00745.x
File Format: text/html
File Function: link to full text
Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.

Publisher Info
Article provided by American Finance Association in its journal The Journal of Finance.

Volume (Year): 60 (2005)
Issue (Month): 2 (04)
Pages: 757-782
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:bla:jfinan:v:60:y:2005:i:2:p:757-782

Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://www.afajof.org/
More information through EDIRC

Order Information:
Web: http://www.afajof.org/membership/join.asp

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Christopher F. Baum).

Related research
Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Brown, Stephen J. & Warner, Jerold B., 1985. "Using daily stock returns : The case of event studies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 3-31, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Gregor Andrade & Mark Mitchell & Erik Stafford, 2001. "New Evidence and Perspectives on Mergers," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(2), pages 103-120, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. MING DONG & David Hirshleifer & SCOTT RICHARSON & Siew Hong Teoh, 2004. "Does Investor Misvaluation Drive the Takeover Market?," Finance 0412002, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. McCardle, Kevin F & Viswanathan, S, 1994. "The Direct Entry versus Takeover Decision and Stock Price Performance around Takeovers," Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 67(1), pages 1-43, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Fama, Eugene F & French, Kenneth R, 1992. " The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(2), pages 427-65, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Bradley, Michael & Desai, Anand & Kim, E. Han, 1988. "Synergistic gains from corporate acquisitions and their division between the stockholders of target and acquiring firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 3-40, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1990. " Do Managerial Objectives Drive Bad Acquisitions?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(1), pages 31-48, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Moeller, Sara B. & Schlingemann, Frederik P. & Stulz, Rene M., 2004. "Firm size and the gains from acquisitions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 201-228, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Comment, Robert & Schwert, G. William, 1995. "Poison or placebo? Evidence on the deterrence and wealth effects of modern antitakeover measures," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 3-43, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. Boyan Jovanovic & Serguey Braguinsky, 2002. "Bidder Discounts and Target Premia in Takeovers," NBER Working Papers 9009, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Lewellen, Wilbur & Loderer, Claudio & Rosenfeld, Ahron, 1985. "Merger decisions and executive stock ownership in acquiring firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(1-3), pages 209-231, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Schlingemann, Frederik P. & Stulz, Rene M. & Walkling, Ralph A., 2002. "Divestitures and the liquidity of the market for corporate assets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 117-144, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Officer, Micah S., 2003. "Termination fees in mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 431-467, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Maloney, Michael T & McCormick, Robert E & Mitchell, Mark L, 1993. "Managerial Decision Making and Capital Structure," Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66(2), pages 189-217, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. G. William Schwert, 2000. "Hostility in Takeovers: In the Eyes of the Beholder?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(6), pages 2599-2640, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  17. Mark Mitchell & Todd Pulvino & Erik Stafford, 2004. "Price Pressure around Mergers," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 59(1), pages 31-63, 02. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  18. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W., 2003. "Stock market driven acquisitions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(3), pages 295-311, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  19. Lang, Larry H. P. & Stulz, ReneM. & Walkling, Ralph A., 1989. "Managerial performance, Tobin's Q, and the gains from successful tender offers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 137-154, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Asquith, Paul & Bruner, Robert F. & Mullins, David Jr., 1983. "The gains to bidding firms from merger," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1-4), pages 121-139, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Michael C. Jensen, 2005. "Agency Costs of Overvalued Equity," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 34(1), Spring.
  22. Rhodes-Kropf, Matthew & Robinson, David T. & Viswanathan, S., 2005. "Valuation waves and merger activity: The empirical evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(3), pages 561-603, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  23. Matthew Rhodes-Kropf & S. Viswanathan, 2004. "Market Valuation and Merger Waves," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 59(6), pages 2685-2718, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Lucian Bebchuk & Yaniv Grinstein, 2005. "Firm Expansion and CEO Pay," NBER Working Papers 11886, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Low, Angie & Makhija, Anil K. & Sanders, Anthony B., 2007. "The Impact of Shareholder Power on Bondholders: Evidence from Mergers and Acquisitions," Working Paper Series 2007-5, Ohio State University, Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics. [Downloadable!]
  3. Dennis C. Mueller & B. Burcin Yurtoglu, 2007. "Corporate governance and the returns to acquiring firms' shareholders: an international comparison," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(8), pages 879-896. [Downloadable!]
  4. William R. Latham & Helen Bowers, 2005. "Information Asymmetries, Litigation Risk and the Demand for Fairness Opinions: Evidence from U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions, 1980-2002," Working Papers 05-17, University of Delaware, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  5. Klaus Gugler & Dennis C. Mueller & B. Burcin Yurtoglu, 2005. "The determinants of merger waves," Working Papers 05-15, Utrecht School of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Boone, Jan, 2006. "Firms Merge in Response to Constraints," CEPR Discussion Papers 5744, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Abhay Abhyankar & Keng-Yu Ho & Huainan Zhao, 2005. "Long-run post-merger stock performance of UK acquiring firms: a stochastic dominance perspective," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 15(10), pages 679-690, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Sara B. Moeller & Frederik P. Schlingemann & Rene M. Schultz, 2004. "Do Acquirers With More Uncertain Growth Prospects Gain Less From Acquisitions?," Working Papers 05-17, Utrecht School of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  9. Kothari, S.P. & Loutskina, Elena & Nikolaev, Valeri, 2006. "Agency theory of overvalued equity as an explanation for the accrual anomaly," Discussion Paper 103, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
  10. Anusha Chari & Paige P. Ouimet & Linda L. Tesar, 2004. "Acquiring Control in Emerging Markets: Evidence from the Stock Market," NBER Working Papers 10872, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Richard J. Rosen, 2004. "Betcha can’t acquire just one: merger programs and compensation," Working Paper Series WP-04-22, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. [Downloadable!]
  12. Jong, Abe de & DeJong, Douglas V. & Mertens, Gerard & ...,, 2005. "Royal Ahold: a failure of corporate governance and an accounting scandal," Discussion Paper 57, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? You too can volunteer for RePEc, for example by encouraging others to use our services.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-12.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.