Valuation Impact Research Articles

Acquisition valuations of withdrawn IPOs: When IPO plans turn into mergers

We examine the acquisition valuations of withdrawn-IPOs – private targets that are acquired after they file and then withdraw their IPOs – to examine how IPO registration and withdrawal affect valuations of withdrawn-IPOs in their subsequent mergers. We find that these “almost public” withdrawn-IPOs sell at a significant acquisition premium relative to comparable pure private targets that never file IPO registration and at acquisition valuations similar to comparable public targets. The premium persists only for withdrawn-IPOs that are acquired before their IPO withdrawals after other factors are controlled for. These findings confirm that there is a significantly positive (negative) valuation impact of IPO registration (IPO withdrawal) on withdrawn-IPOs’ subsequent acquisitions. The two effects offset each other for withdrawn-IPOs that are acquired after their IPO withdrawals.

Emerging Country Cross-Border Acquisitions: Characteristics, Acquirer Returns and Cross-Sectional Determinants

What are the important characteristics of cross-border acquisitions (CBAs) by firms from emerging countries and do these acquisitions create market value for the acquirers? Using a unique and a manually collected dataset, we identify 698 CBAs made by emerging country firms during the period January 1991 through December 2008. Targets tend to be small (by U.S. transaction value measures) – the median ranging between $10 million to $40 million (in 2008 dollars). However, from 2000 to 2008, 24 acquisitions were worth more than a billion dollars each. Emerging country acquirers experience a positive and a significant market response of 1.09% on the announcement day. Additionally, in the cross-section, acquirer returns are positively correlated with (better) corporate governance measures in the target country. The positive announcement return and the cross-sectional relation between these returns and governance measures are consistent with Martynova and Renneboog’s (2008) and Khanna and Palepu’s (2004) bootstrapping hypothesis: The acquirer voluntarily bootstraps itself to the higher governance standards of the target – resulting in a positive valuation impact for the acquirer.

Emerging country cross-border acquisitions: Characteristics, acquirer returns and cross-sectional determinants

What are the important characteristics of cross-border acquisitions (CBAs) by firms from emerging countries and do these acquisitions create market value for the acquirers? Using a unique and a manually collected dataset, we identify 698 CBAs made by emerging country firms during the period January 1991 through December 2008. Targets tend to be small (by U.S. transaction value measures) — the median ranging between $10 million and $40 million (in 2008 dollars). However, from 2000 to 2008, 24 acquisitions were worth more than a billion dollars each. Emerging country acquirers experience a positive and a significant market response of 1.09% on the announcement day. Additionally, in the cross-section, acquirer returns are positively correlated with (better) corporate governance measures in the target country. The positive announcement return and the cross-sectional relation between these returns and governance measures are consistent with Martynova and Renneboog's (2008) and Khanna and Palepu's (2004) bootstrapping hypothesis: the acquirer voluntarily bootstraps itself to the higher governance standards of the target — resulting in a positive valuation impact for the acquirer.

The Partisan Business Cycle and Firm Value: Toward Political Economy of Firm Valuation

Our research probes the firm valuation impact of partisan-motivated policy cycles. We first identify the micro-channels of policy transmission that link partisan policy disturbances to firm value. Then, we draw on firm-level data from 21 industrial democracies for the period extending from 1989 to 2008 to examine whether government partisanship has any distinct impact on firm value. We identify a surprisingly large and consistent positive relationship of left-oriented governments with firm value. Additionally, our research finds that the partisan impact on firm value is appreciably conditioned by factors like economic openness.

Investment Growth and the Relation between Equity Value, Earnings, and Equity Book Value

Abstract: Using Zhang (2000) as the theoretical basis, we predict and empirically test the effect of investment growth on the relation between equity value and accounting variables. We find that (1) growth increases the slope in the value-earnings relation for high-profitability firms (consistent with growth having positive NPV), but has an insignificant or negative effect on the slope for lower-profitability firms (consistent with growth having non-positive NPV); (2) given earnings, growth increases the (positive) slope of the relation between equity value and equity book value for low-profitability firms, but reduces this slope and causes equity value to decrease with book value for high-profitability firms; and (3) given profitability (ROE), equity value uniformly increases with book value, and growth increases the slope of this relation. We also examine the valuation impact of past investment activities that arises from accounting conservatism. We find that the earnings coefficient is greater in the years following faster investment increases (which cause earnings to be more conservatively stated).

The Valuation Impact of SEC Enforcement Actions on Non-Target Non-U.S. Firms

This study shows that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) enforcement intensity toward the foreign firms under its jurisdiction has increased dramatically over the past two decades. Because enforcement events signify an increased threat of future enforcement, I examine the stock returns of foreign firms not targeted by the SEC during windows around enforcement actions that target foreign firms. This design captures the net effects of public enforcement and helps to rule out omitted variables as alternative explanations, because other factors would have to align with enforcement events that do not occur in an obvious pattern (and are therefore unlikely to map onto other news). Nontarget firms experience positive stock returns during the event windows, which is consistent with enforcement constraining the risks of expropriation. The cross-sectional pattern in returns reveals greater returns for firms from weak home legal environments. Finally, consistent with the market adjusting to a new enforcement regime, the magnitude of event returns declines over time. Overall, SEC enforcement is associated with increases in the value of foreign firms, supporting the premise of the legal bonding hypothesis.

The Role of Dual-pane Windows and Improvement Age in Explaining Residential Property Values

There is a modest amount of research on the valuation impact ofindividual green features such as dual-pane windows. We develop andtest a valuation theory for dual-pane windows. The results from ahedonic pricing model indicate a positive and statistically significantdirect effect for residential transactions with improvements possessingthe dual-pane window feature. However, when a dual-pane window agevariable is introduced, the direct effect disappears and is replaced by aninteraction effect. The supply of properties with dual-pane windowsdecreases with property age, which suggests that the valuation impactof the dual-pane window feature increases with property age.

The Role of Dual Pane Windows and Improvement Age in Explaining Residential Property Values

Real estate literature concerned with energy efficient or green property features focuses primarily on the impact of green labeling, certifications and designations. There is a modest amount of research on the valuation impact of individual green features such as dual pane windows, an important and widely implemented green feature in the American housing stock. From a sample of single-family residential sale transactions, we develop and test a valuation theory for dual pane windows and our results from a hedonic pricing model indicate a positive and statistically significant direct effect for residential transactions with improvements possessing the dual pane window feature. However, when a dual pane window-age variable is introduced, the direct effect disappears and is replaced by this interaction effect.The supply of properties with dual pane windows decreases with property age and the significance of this interaction effect suggests that the valuation impact of the dual pane window feature increases with property age.

Executive Turnover and the Valuation of Stock Options

This paper develops a model for the valuation of executive stock options (ESOs) considering two sources of early exercise: forced exercise due to executive turnover and voluntary exercise due to personal considerations. Using data of about 4,000 US executives, I estimate separate hazard rate factor models for both sources of early exercise. In a second step, I combine both conditional hazard exercise models for the valuation of a representative ESO in a Monte Carlo simulation. Analysis of the individual valuation impact of each source of early exercise shows that turnover induced exercises are responsible for most of the valuation discount of ESOs to market traded options. This result is important as most of the current literature on ESOs concentrates solely on voluntary exercises. I further find that the common practice valuation approach suggested by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) consistently underestimates ESO values.

A Commentary on Risk Reduction by Geographic Diversification

The relationship between multinationality and value is still one of the most fundamental questions in IB research. Gande, Schenzler, and Senbet (2009) claim to have found empirical evidence for the incomplete capital markets theory (ICMT), which stipulates that investors value corporate multinationality due to its risk‐reducing effect. We show here that their findings do not support the hypothesis that investors value geographical diversification at the firm level because of its risk reducing effect. Further, a review of extant research shows that empirical results concerning the valuation impact of the risk‐reducing effect of geographical diversification at the firm level have to be regarded with caution due to conceptual and methodological inconsistencies. Consequently, this paper proposes several methodological refinements.

Firm Value and Cross-Listings: The Impact of Stock Market Prestige

This study investigates the valuation impact of a firm’s decision to cross-list on a more (or less) prestigious stock exchange relative to its own domestic market. We use network analysis to derive broad market-based measures of prestige for forty-five country or regional stock exchange destinations between 1990 and 2006. We find that firms cross-listing in a more prestigious market enjoy significant valuation gains over the five-year period following the listing. We also document a reverse effect for firms cross-listing in less prestigious markets: These firms experience a significant decline in valuation over the five years following the listing. The reputation of the cross-border listing destinations is therefore a useful signal of a firm’s value going forward. Our findings are consistent with the view that cross-listing in a prestigious market enhances a firm’s visibility, strengthens corporate governance, and lowers informational frictions and capital costs.

The valuation impact of reconciling pro forma earnings to GAAP earnings

Regulation G requires all companies to quantitatively reconcile pro forma earnings with GAAP earnings. This paper provides three findings related to the impact of reconciliations on mispricing of pro forma earnings. First, prior to Reg G, we find that mispricing of pro forma earnings is limited to firms with low reconciliation quality. There is no evidence of mispricing for firms with high reconciliation quality. Second, we find no evidence of mispricing after Reg G. Third, there is a cross-Reg G reduction of mispricing for firms whose reconciliation quality improves, and there continues to be no mispricing for firms that have high reconciliation quality both before and after Reg G. Together, our results support the notion that better reconciliations reduce the extent of mispricing.

Explanation for market response to seasoned equity offerings

In this paper, we use a multivariate framework to extend the recent univariate seasoned equity offering (SEO) research that investigated the valuation impact of inside ownership. Our multivariate findings re-enforce and add to the univariate findings as we show that the inside ownership level is a consistent factor in accounting for short-run and long-run returns around SEOs, while the decrease in inside ownership has no impact on short-run returns but influences long-run returns in a manner inconsistent with signaling theory. Compared to prior research, our regression tests do a much better job of accounting for returns associated with SEO announcements. For short-run regression tests, the four major factors associated with superior stock returns are: lower underpricing; greater profitability prior to SEO; lower inside ownership level; and, less stock price variability prior to SEO. For long-run regression tests, the four major conditions linked to superior returns are: greater profitability prior to SEO; smaller inside ownership level; relative size of the offering; and, greater decrease in inside ownership level.

Corporate governance and regulation: Can there be too much of a good thing?

For a large number of companies from different countries, the authors analyze how company corporate governance practices and country regulatory regimes interact in terms of company valuation. They confirm that corporate governance plays a crucial role in efficient company monitoring and shareholder protection, and consequently positively impacts valuation. They find substitution in valuation impact between corporate governance measures at the company and country level, with a possibility of over-regulation. Corporate governance appears more valuable for companies that rely heavily on external financing, consistent with the hypothesis that the main role of corporate governance is to protect external financiers.

Rationality at the Eve of Destruction: Insurance Stocks and Huge Catastrophic Events

We study the valuation impact on 148 insurance stocks caused by 25 of the largest catastrophic events that occurred in recent history. Because of their exceptional severity and the consequent high attention they experience in the media we expect to find significant overreactions of insurance stocks relative to the market, which would be in-line with an availability bias known from the behavioral finance literature. However, we have to realize that insurance stock investors behave not less rational than the market does under these conditions. A clear exception to this are the 9/11 terror attacks. In general we find that insurance stocks adjust gradually to a new valuation level.

International Joint Venture Configurations in Big Emerging Markets

Empirical studies of the shareholder valuation impact of firms’ international joint venture (IJV) participation have usually emphasized firm‐specific factors, but rarely extended their analysis to location‐specific factors. This is a crucial omission because the two sets of factors are interconnected vis‐a‐vis their influence on firms’ performance. Yet, previous work has neither identified how the two sets of factors complement each other nor investigated the effect of these complementarities on the shareholder value of firms who enter into IJVs. This study attempts to fill these gaps. It develops a typology of IJVs and then performs cluster analysis on a sample of 241 equity IJVs. Results indicate eight clusters in the data, including three clusters with positive shareholder value. In deriving support for its six hypotheses, the study highlights both value‐creating and value‐neutral configurations of firm‐ and location‐specific variables.

Ineffective corporate governance: Director busyness and board committee memberships

Our paper examines whether holding multiple outside board seats compromises a director’s ability to effectively perform monitoring duties. Analyzing over 1400 firms, we report that individuals who hold more outside directorships serve on fewer board committees. The relation, however, appears non-linear, U-shaped, and in support for both the busyness and the reputation hypotheses. In addition, we find that holding more outside board seats decreases the likelihood of membership on compensation and audit committees. The findings substantiate evidence [Akhigbe, A., Martin, A.D., 2006. Valuation impact of Sarbanes–Oxley: Evidence from disclosure and governance within the financial services industry. Journal of Banking and Finance 30 (3), 989–1006] of value relevance of board committee structures. Additional analysis of committee memberships suggests that women and ethnic minorities are placed on more board committees. Also, directors on smaller and independent boards serve on more committees. Finally, it appears that the Sarbanes–Oxley act had a material impact on the association between the number of multiple board seats and committee memberships.

The value relevance of disclosures of liabilities of equity‐accounted investees: UK evidence

This study examines the value relevance of mandated disclosures by UK firms of the investor‐firm share of liabilities of equity‐accounted associate and joint venture investees. It does so for the six years following the introduction of FRS 9: Associates and Joint Ventures, which forced a substantial increase in such disclosures by UK firms. Since the increased disclosure requirements were partly motivated by concern that single‐line equity accounting concealed the level of group gearing, and in light of previous US results, it is predicted that the mandated investee‐liability disclosures have a negative coefficient in a value‐relevance regression. The study also examines whether value‐relevance regression coefficients on investee‐liability disclosures are more negative for joint ventures than for associates and whether they are more negative in the presence of investor‐firm guarantees of investee‐firm obligations than in the absence of such guarantees. The study reports that the coefficient on all investee‐liability disclosures taken together has the predicted negative sign, and is significantly different from zero. It finds little evidence that the negative valuation impact of liability disclosures is stronger for joint venture investees overall than for associate investees overall, or stronger for guarantee cases overall than for non‐guarantee cases overall. There is, however, some evidence that the impact for joint venture guarantee cases is stronger than that for joint venture non‐guarantee cases and stronger than that for associate guarantee cases.

High tech M&A – strategic valuation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show how Sarbanes‐Oxley is motivating corporate boards to bring heightened scrutiny for all aspects of the acquisition process, including valuation. This paper examines how in addition to the high‐tech M&A strategic objective, the decision on the post closing integration strategy should be considered as part of a target's firm valuation.Design/methodology/approachThe paper argues that, within the high‐tech sector, the target firm characteristics in relation to the market are not sufficient for the basis of valuation. Planned management interventions, including the acquirer's management integration strategy decision, should also be considered. It further argues that intellectual capital retention, an important element of the target firm's valuation, is directly related to how closely the pace and degree of integration matches the acquirer's strategic objectives and the outcome of the due diligence.FindingsBased on the findings from a set of interviews with M&A practitioners in the high‐tech field, due diligence, post closing integration planning and identity are viewed as important factors to the acquisition outcome. They appear not to be considered for the target firm valuation, which may result in an acquirer paying an excessive premium.Practical implicationsFinally the paper proposes a framework to guide high‐tech firms to select an integration strategy and its valuation impact in relation to the acquisition strategic objective, the due diligence outcome and the integration strategy.Originality/valueThe outcome of this project is raising the importance of due diligence and post integration strategy in relation to other factors that impact transaction outcome such as intellectual capital retention and valuation.

Firm valuation, abnormal earnings, and mutual funds flow

We examine the valuation effects of overall demand for corporate equities combined with the influence of abnormal earnings and unexpected funds flow. Our results indicate that the expected and unexpected net new total flow of funds into all stock mutual funds do not by themselves have a meaningful effect on firm equity valuation. However, we find the combination of unexpected funds flow and realized abnormal earnings have significant and important valuation effects. Importantly, the valuation impact is greatest for those firms with high earnings growth potential that also operate in an environment characterized by high information asymmetry.