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The Profitability of Merger Arbitrage: Some Australian Evidence

Author

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  • Krishnan Maheswaran

    (Department of Finance, University of Melbourne, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010.)

  • Soon Chin Yeoh

    (Department of Finance, University of Melbourne, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010.)

Abstract

In this paper we examine the risk-adjusted profitability of merger arbitrage in Australia. Using a sample of 193 merger and acquisition bids from January 1991 to April 2000, we construct a time series of returns on equal and value-weighted merger arbitrage portfolios. Benchmarking the returns on the merger arbitrage portfolios against the CAPM and Fama and French (1993) three-factor models, we find that merger arbitrage generates statistically and economically significant excess risk-adjusted returns before transaction costs, ranging from 0.84% to 1.20% per month. However, after adjusting for transaction costs, the risk-adjusted returns are no longer statistically significant Further, in contrast to the United States, our evidence indicates that merger arbitrage in Australia is a market-neutral investment strategy. Indeed, the results from our estimations of the linear CAPM and Fama and French (1993) three-factor models suggest that merger arbitrage returns are not significantly sensitive to market-wide factors.

Suggested Citation

  • Krishnan Maheswaran & Soon Chin Yeoh, 2005. "The Profitability of Merger Arbitrage: Some Australian Evidence," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 30(1), pages 111-126, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ausman:v:30:y:2005:i:1:p:111-126
    DOI: 10.1177/031289620503000106
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robert Faff, 2001. "An Examination of the Fama and French Three-Factor Model Using Commercially Available Factors," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 26(1), pages 1-17, June.
    2. Larcker, David F. & Lys, Thomas, 1987. "An empirical analysis of the incentives to engage in costly information acquisition : The case of risk arbitrage," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 111-126, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ferguson, Colin & Finn, Frank & Hall, Jason & Pinnuck, Matt, 2010. "Speculation and e-commerce: The long and the short of IT," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 79-104.
    2. Faff, Robert & Prasadh, Shyaam & Shams, Syed, 2019. "Merger and acquisition research in the Asia-Pacific region: A review of the evidence and future directions," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 267-278.
    3. Ian McDermott & Mark Mulcahy, 2017. "Merger Arbitrage in Germany," Journal of Finance and Investment Analysis, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 6(2), pages 1-2.
    4. Jason Hall & Matthew Pinnuck & Matthew Thorne, 2013. "Market risk exposure of merger arbitrage in Australia," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 53(1), pages 185-215, March.

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