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Do Investment Banks Matter for M&A Returns?

Jack Bao1; Alex Edmans2

1 Fisher College · 2 University of Pennsylvania

Review of Financial Studies 2011

We document a significant investment bank fixed effect in the announcement returns of M&A deals. The interquartile range of bank fixed effects is 1.26%, compared with a full-sample average return of 0.72%. The results remain significant after controlling for the component of returns attributable to the acquirer. Our findings suggest that investment banks matter for M&A outcomes, and contrast earlier studies that show no positive link between various measures of advisor quality and M&A returns. Differences in average returns across banks are also persistent over time and predictable from prior performance. Clients do not chase past returns, which may explain why persistence exists in M&A performance while it is absent in mutual funds.

DOI
10.1093/rfs/hhr014
Volume
24 (7)
Pages
2286-2315
Language
en
Export
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