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Diversification to mitigate expropriation in the tobacco industry

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  • Beneish, Messod D.
  • Jansen, Ivo Ph.
  • Lewis, Melissa F.
  • Stuart, Nathan V.

Abstract

While it is well established that diversifying acquisitions by large, cash-rich firms destroy shareholder wealth, we document positive abnormal returns to such acquisitions in the tobacco industry. We show that these abnormal returns are associated with proxies for lower expected expropriation costs. Specifically, we show that wealth creation increases in the degree of domestic geographic expansion afforded by the acquisition (increasing tobacco firms' influence in more political districts) and in the liquidity of tobacco firms' assets (converting cash to harder-to-expropriate operating assets). We also show that the threat of expropriation constrains payments to shareholders before expropriation becomes certain in 1998.

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  • Beneish, Messod D. & Jansen, Ivo Ph. & Lewis, Melissa F. & Stuart, Nathan V., 2008. "Diversification to mitigate expropriation in the tobacco industry," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 136-157, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfinec:v:89:y:2008:i:1:p:136-157
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    3. Augustine, Grace L. & Piazza, Alessandro, 2021. "Category Evolution under Conditions of Stigma: The Segregation of Abortion Provision into Specialist Clinics in the United States," OSF Preprints fzqa6, Center for Open Science.
    4. Derwall, Jeroen & Koedijk, Kees & Ter Horst, Jenke, 2011. "A tale of values-driven and profit-seeking social investors," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 2137-2147, August.
    5. Yang Zhang, 2018. "Corporate Governance Effects on Risk Management and Shareholder Wealth: The Case of Mergers and Acquisitions," PhD Thesis, Finance Discipline Group, UTS Business School, University of Technology, Sydney, number 4-2018, January-A.
    6. Leventis, Stergios & Hasan, Iftekhar & Dedoulis, Emmanouil, 2013. "The cost of sin: The effect of social norms on audit pricing," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 152-165.
    7. Kretzschmar, Gavin L. & Sharifzyanova, Liliya, 2010. "Limits to international diversification in oil & gas – Domestic vs foreign asset control," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 468-477.
    8. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2013_013 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. M. D. Beneish & C. R. Harvey & A. Tseng & P. Vorst, 2022. "Unpatented innovation and merger synergies," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 706-744, June.
    10. Novak, Jiri & Bilinski, Pawel, 2018. "Social stigma and executive compensation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 169-184.
    11. Guidi, Marco & Sogiakas, Vasilios & Vagenas-Nanos, Evangelos & Verwijmeren, Patrick, 2020. "Spreading the sin: An empirical assessment from corporate takeovers," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    12. Grougiou, Vassiliki & Dedoulis, Emmanouil & Leventis, Stergios, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting and Organizational Stigma: The Case of “Sin” Industries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 905-914.
    13. Hannah Oh & John Bae & Sang-Joon Kim, 2017. "Can Sinful Firms Benefit from Advertising Their CSR Efforts? Adverse Effect of Advertising Sinful Firms’ CSR Engagements on Firm Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(4), pages 643-663, July.
    14. Ivo Jansen & Lee Sanning & Nathan Stuart, 2015. "Do hubris and the information environment explain the effect of acquirers’ size on their gains from acquisitions?," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 39(2), pages 211-234, April.
    15. Chengcheng Li & Xiaoqiong Wang, 2018. "Do Geographic Effects Matter? A Literature Review," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 8(2), pages 1-6.

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