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Journal of Finance Vol. 67 No. 1 2012

When It Pays to Pay Your Investment Banker: New Evidence on the Role of Financial Advisors in M&As

Andrey Golubov1,2,3,4,5; Dimitris Petmezas1,2,3,4,5; Nickolaos G. Travlos6

1 Conference Board · 2 City, University of London · 3 Alba Graduate Business School, The American College of Greece · 4 University of Surrey · 5 Athens University of Economics and Business · 6 London Business School

open access

Abstract

We provide new evidence on the role of financial advisors in M&As. Contrary to prior studies, top‐tier advisors deliver higher bidder returns than their non‐top‐tier counterparts but in public acquisitions only, where the advisor reputational exposure and required skills set are relatively larger. This translates into a $65.83 million shareholder gain for an average bidder. The improvement comes from top‐tier advisors' ability to identify more synergistic combinations and to get a larger share of synergies to accrue to bidders. Consistent with the premium price–premium quality equilibrium, top‐tier advisors charge premium fees in these transactions.

DOI
10.1111/j.1540-6261.2011.01712.x
Volume
67
Issue
1
Pages
271-311
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref openalex

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