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Mergers and Acquisitions Accounting and the Diversification Discount

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  • CLÁUDIA CUSTÓDIO

Abstract

type="main"> q-based measures of the diversification discount are biased upward by mergers and acquisitions and its accounting implications. Under purchase accounting, acquired assets are reported at their transaction value, which typically exceeds the target's pre-merger book value. Thus, measured q tends to be lower for the merged firm than for the portfolio of pre-merger entities. Because conglomerates are more acquisitive than focused firms, their q tends to be lower. To mitigate this bias, I subtract goodwill from the book value of assets and a substantial part of the diversification discount is eliminated. Market-to-sales-based measures do not have this bias.

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  • Cláudia Custódio, 2014. "Mergers and Acquisitions Accounting and the Diversification Discount," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(1), pages 219-240, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jfinan:v:69:y:2014:i:1:p:219-240
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrea Caggese & Ander Pérez-Orive, 2017. "Capital Misallocation and Secular Stagnation," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2017-009, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    2. Kim, Sehoon, 2020. "Disappearing Discounts: Hedge Fund Activism in Conglomerates," MPRA Paper 100876, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Maryam Eghbal & Farzaneh Nassirzadeh & Davood Askarany, 2024. "The Relationship Between Non-additivity Valuations, Cash Flows and Sales Growth," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 64(1), pages 429-459, July.
    4. Jessie Jiaxu Wang, 2023. "Workplace Automation and Corporate Liquidity Policy," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2023-023, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    5. Hyoung-Goo Kang & Richard M. Burton & Will Mitchell, 2021. "How firm boundaries and relatedness jointly affect diversification value: trade-offs between governance and flexibility," Computational and Mathematical Organization Theory, Springer, vol. 27(1), pages 1-34, March.
    6. Luc Paugam & Jean‐François Casta & Hervé Stolowy, 2018. "Non‐additivity in Accounting Valuation: Theory and Applications," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 54(3), pages 381-416, September.
    7. Yoon K. Choi, 2020. "Does executive compensation reflect corporate productivity?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(7-8), pages 1012-1033, July.
    8. Laplante, Stacie K. & Nesbitt, Wayne L., 2017. "The relation among trapped cash, permanently reinvested earnings, and foreign cash," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 126-148.
    9. Mushtaq Hussain Khan & Hina Yaqub Bhatti & Arshad Hassan & Ahmad Fraz, 2021. "The diversification–performance nexus: mediating role of information asymmetry," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 25(3), pages 787-810, September.
    10. Goetz, Martin R. & Laeven, Luc & Levine, Ross, 2016. "Does the geographic expansion of banks reduce risk?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(2), pages 346-362.
    11. Florackis, Chris & Kanas, Angelos & Kostakis, Alexandros & Sainani, Sushil, 2020. "Idiosyncratic risk, risk-taking incentives and the relation between managerial ownership and firm value," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 283(2), pages 748-766.
    12. Mushtaq Hussain Khan, & Ahmad Fraz & Arshad Hassan, 2016. "The Diversification Puzzle: The Role of Asymmetric Information and Insider Trading in Pakistan," Lahore Journal of Economics, Department of Economics, The Lahore School of Economics, vol. 21(2), pages 97-119, July-Dec.
    13. Bressan, Silvia & Weissensteiner, Alex, 2021. "The financial conglomerate discount: Insights from stock return skewness," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    14. Xiao, Zhijie & Xu, Lan, 2019. "What do mean impacts miss? Distributional effects of corporate diversification," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 213(1), pages 92-120.
    15. Maryam Ishaq & Yasir Islam & Ghulam Ghouse, 2021. "Tobin’s Q as an Indicator of Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence from Manufacturing Sector Firms of Pakistan," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(1), pages 425-441.
    16. Yanyan Lin & Xipei Hou, 2024. "Stock market liberalisation and acquisition outcomes: Evidence from a natural experiment," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 3344-3371, July.
    17. Golubov, Andrey & Xiong, Nan, 2020. "Post-acquisition performance of private acquirers," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    18. Jordan, Bradford D. & Li, Ang & Liu, Mark H., 2022. "Mutual fund preference for pure-play firms," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    19. Hornstein, Abigail S. & Nguyen, Zachary, 2014. "Is more less? Propensity to diversify via M&A and market reactions," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 76-88.
    20. Oliver Boguth & Ran Duchin & Mikhail Simutin, 2022. "Dissecting Conglomerate Valuations," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 77(2), pages 1097-1131, April.
    21. Harper, Joel T. & Iyer, Subramanian Rama & Nejadmalayeri, Ali, 2017. "Diversification discount and investor sentiment," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 218-236.

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