The Evolution of Inversion Strategies: Rule of Law Changes and Managerial Agency

Abstract

Firms invert either through a pure inversion strategy or by merging with a foreign entity. We document that the impact of corporate inversions on the cost of equity is significantly different between the two strategies. We find that pure inversions increase the cost of equity by 10%, whereas inversions through mergers decrease it by 13%. Although both inversion strategies increase the inverting firm's shareholder value, inversions through mergers appear to create more value. However, before the tax reform of 2004, which eliminated the tax savings from pure inversions, most inversions were pure, whereas after the tax reform most were done through mergers. This finding suggests that the tax reform had an unintended consequence of reducing a managerial agency problem by eliminating the less beneficial inversion option.