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Journal of Financial Economics Vol. 109 No. 1 2013

Acquisitions driven by stock overvaluation: Are they good deals?

Fangjian Fu1; Leming Lin2; Micah S. Officer3

1 Singapore Management University · 2 University of Florida · 3 Loyola Marymount University

Abstract

Theory and recent evidence suggest that overvalued firms can create value for shareholders if they exploit their overvaluation by using their stock as currency to purchase less overvalued firms. We challenge this idea and show that, in practice, overvalued acquirers significantly overpay for their targets. These acquisitions do not, in turn, lead to synergy gains. Moreover, these acquisitions seem to be concentrated among acquirers with the largest governance problems. CEO compensation, not shareholder value creation, appears to be the main motive behind acquisitions by overvalued acquirers.

DOI
10.1016/j.jfineco.2013.02.013
Volume
109
Issue
1
Pages
24-39
Language
en
Sources
crossref bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex

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