Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis Vol. 56 No. 2 2021

Corporate Liquidity, Acquisitions, and Macroeconomic Conditions

Isil Erel^1,2,3,4; Yeejin Jang^1,2,3; Bernadette A. Minton⁵; Michael S. Weisbach⁶

¹ National Bureau of Economic Research · ² Purdue University West Lafayette · ³ Fisher College · ⁴ European Resuscitation Council · ⁵ Minton · ⁶ Allensbach Institute

Abstract

This paper evaluates how the relation between firms’ cash holdings and their acquisition decisions changes over macroeconomic cycles using a sample of 47,615 acquisitions from 36 countries between 1997 and 2014. Higher cash holdings and stronger macroeconomic conditions each increase the likelihood that a firm will make an acquisition. However, larger cash holdings decrease the sensitivity of acquisitions to macroeconomic factors, suggesting that cash holdings lower financing constraints during times when the cost of external finance is high. Announcement day abnormal returns for acquirers follow a consistent pattern: They decrease with acquirer cash holdings and with better macroeconomic conditions.

DOI

10.1017/s0022109019000978

Volume

56

Issue

2

Pages

443-474

Language

en

Sources

bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

Cite

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