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How Do Mergers Create Value? A Comparison of Taxes, Market Power, and Efficiency Improvements as Explanations for�Synergies

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  • Erik Devos
  • Palani-Rajan Kadapakkam
  • Srinivasan Krishnamurthy

Abstract

There is little evidence in the literature on the relative importance of the underlying sources of merger gains. Prior literature suggests that synergies could arise due to taxes, market power, or efficiency improvements. Based on Value Line forecasts, we estimate the average synergy gains in a broad sample of 264 large mergers to be 10.03% of the combined equity value of the merging firms. The detailed data in Value Line projections allow for the decomposition of these gains into underlying operating and financial synergies. We estimate that tax savings contribute only 1.64% in additional value, while operating synergies account for the remaining 8.38%. Operating synergies are higher in focused mergers, while tax savings constitute a large fraction of the gains in diversifying mergers. The operating synergies are generated primarily by cutbacks in investment expenditures rather than by increased operating profits. Overall, the evidence suggests that mergers generate gains by improving resource allocation rather than by reducing tax payments or increasing the market power of the combined firm. The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Society for Financial Studies. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.

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Bibliographic Info

Article provided by Society for Financial Studies in its journal The Review of Financial Studies.

Volume (Year): 22 (2009)
Issue (Month): 3 (March)
Pages: 1179-1211

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Handle: RePEc:oup:rfinst:v:22:y:2009:i:3:p:1179-1211

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Cited by:
  1. Sjögren, Anna, 2010. "Graded children – evidence of longrun consequences of school grades from a nationwide reform," Working Paper Series 2010:7, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
  2. Sugata Ray & Missaka Warusawitharana, 2007. "An efficiency perspective on the gains from mergers and asset purchases," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2007-39, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
  3. Huyghebaert, Nancy & Luypaert, Mathieu, 2010. "Antecedents of growth through mergers and acquisitions: Empirical results from Belgium," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 392-403, April.
  4. Nadine Gatzert & Hato Schmeiser, 2011. "On the risk situation of financial conglomerates: does diversification matter?," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 3-26, March.
  5. Laura-Melinda STAN & Alexandru JIVAN, 2012. "The Exploitation of the Open Economic System’s Synergistic Relational Potential," Journal of Knowledge Management, Economics and Information Technology, ScientificPapers.org, vol. 2(2), pages 9, April.
  6. Stefan Erdorf & Thomas Hartmann-Wendels & Nicolas Heinrichs & Michael Matz, 2012. "Corporate Diversification and Firm Value: A Survey of Recent Literature," Cologne Graduate School Working Paper Series 03-01, Cologne Graduate School in Management, Economics and Social Sciences.
  7. Johannes Becker & Clemens Fuest, 2009. "Source versus Residence Based Taxation with International Mergers and Acquisitions," CESifo Working Paper Series 2854, CESifo Group Munich.
  8. Massa, Massimo & Zhang, Lei, 2009. "Cosmetic mergers: The effect of style investing on the market for corporate control," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(3), pages 400-427, September.
  9. Anjos, Fernando, 2010. "Costly refocusing, the diversification discount, and the pervasiveness of diversified firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 276-287, June.
  10. Sudip Ghosh & Christine Harrington & Walter Smith, 2011. "Do windfall non-debt tax shields from acquisitions affect corporate debt issues?," Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 37(6), pages 537-552, June.
  11. Ismail, Ahmad & Krause, Andreas, 2010. "Determinants of the method of payment in mergers and acquisitions," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 471-484, November.
  12. Norbäck, Pehr-Johan & Persson, Lars & Tåg, Joacim, 2010. "Ownership Efficiency and Tax Advantages: The Case of Private Equity Buyouts," Working Paper Series 841, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
  13. Utz Weitzel & Killian J McCarthy, 2009. "Theory and Evidence on Mergers and Acquisitions by Small and Medium Enterprises," Working Papers 09-21, Utrecht School of Economics.
  14. Mantecon, Tomas & Liu, Ian & Gao, Fei, 2012. "Empirical evidence of the value of monitoring in joint ownership," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 1045-1056.

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