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Journal of Banking & Finance Vol. 81 2017

The value-added role of industry specialist advisors in M&As

Michael Graham1; Terry S. Walter2; Alfred Yawson3; Huizhong Zhang4

1 Stellenbosch University · 2 University of Wollongong · 3 The University of Adelaide · 4 Queensland University of Technology

Abstract

This paper examines the value-added role of industry specialist advisors in M&As. We find that compared to non-industry specialists, advisors specializing in the target industry help acquirers garner higher announcement returns. However, there is no significant difference in acquirer returns between advisors specializing in the acquirer industry and non-industry specialists. The choice of a specialist advisor in the target industry benefits acquirers most when there is significant information asymmetry surrounding the targets. Moreover, the bulk of value creation comes from small- to medium-sized financial advisors, rather than large, top-tier investment banks. Finally, our results suggest that advisors specializing in the target industry add value mainly through their ability to help acquirers purchase targets at a lower price.

DOI
10.1016/j.jbankfin.2017.04.010
Volume
81
Pages
81-104
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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