University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Finance Papers Wharton Faculty Research 2009 Do Stock Mergers Create Value for Acquirers? Pavel Savor University of Pennsylvania Qi Lu Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/fnce_papers Part of the Finance Commons, and the Finance and Financial Management Commons Recommended Citation Savor, P., & Lu, Q. (2009). Do Stock Mergers Create Value for Acquirers?. The Journal of Finance, 64 (3), 1061-1097. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.2009.01459.x This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/fnce_papers/304 For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Do Stock Mergers Create Value for Acquirers? Abstract This paper finds support for the hypothesis that overvalued firms create value for long-term shareholders by using their equity as currency. Any approach centered on abnormal returns is complicated by the fact that the most overvalued firms have the greatest incentive to engage in stock acquisitions. We solve this endogeneity problem by creating a sample of mergers that fail for exogenous reasons. We find that unsuccessful stock bidders significantly underperform successful ones. Failure to consummate is costlier for richly priced firms, and the unrealized acquirer-target combination would have earned higher returns. None of these results hold for cash bids. Disciplines Finance | Finance and Financial Management This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/fnce_papers/304 Do Stock Mergers Create Value for Acquirers? PAVEL G. SAVOR and QI LU* ABSTRACT This paper …nds support for the hypothesis that overvalued …rms create value for long-term share- holders by using their equity as currency.