IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/corfin/v15y2009i1p10-29.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Creditor financing and overbidding in bankruptcy auctions: Theory and tests

Author

Listed:
  • Eckbo, B. Espen
  • Thorburn, Karin S.

Abstract

We present unique empirical tests for auction overbidding using data from Sweden's auction bankruptcy system. The main creditor (a bank) can neither bid in the auction nor refuse to sell in order to support a minimum price. However, we argue that the bank may increase its expected revenue by financing a bidder in return for a joint bid strategy, and we show that the optimal coalition bid exceeds the bidder's private valuation (overbidding) by an amount that is increasing in the bank's ex ante debt impairment. We find that bank-bidder financing arrangements are common, and our cross-sectional regressions show that winning bids are increasing in the bank-debt impairment as predicted. While, in theory, overbidding may result in the coalition winning against a more efficient rival bidder, our evidence on post-bankruptcy operating performance fails to support such allocative inefficiency effects. We also find that restructurings by bank-financed bidders are relatively risky as they have greater bankruptcy refiling rates, irrespective of the coalition's overbidding incentive.

Suggested Citation

  • Eckbo, B. Espen & Thorburn, Karin S., 2009. "Creditor financing and overbidding in bankruptcy auctions: Theory and tests," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 10-29, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:15:y:2009:i:1:p:10-29
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929-1199(08)00040-0
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brian L. Betker, 1995. "An Empirical Examination of Prepackaged Bankruptcy," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 24(1), Spring.
    2. Jeremy Bulow & Ming Huang & Paul Klemperer, 1999. "Toeholds and Takeovers," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(3), pages 427-454, June.
    3. Philippe Aghion & Oliver D. Hart & John Moore, 1994. "The Economics of Bankruptcy Reform," NBER Chapters, in: The Transition in Eastern Europe, Volume 2, Restructuring, pages 215-244, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. repec:bla:jfinan:v:55:y:2000:i:4:p:1807-1854 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1992. "Liquidation Values and Debt Capacity: A Market Equilibrium Approach," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1343-1366, September.
    6. Betton, Sandra & Eckbo, B Espen, 2000. "Toeholds, Bid Jumps, and Expected Payoffs in Takeovers," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 13(4), pages 841-882.
    7. Burkart, Mike, 1995. "Initial Shareholdings and Overbidding in Takeover Contests," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 50(5), pages 1491-1515, December.
    8. Arturo Bris & Ivo Welch & Ning Zhu, 2006. "The Costs of Bankruptcy: Chapter 7 Liquidation versus Chapter 11 Reorganization," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(3), pages 1253-1303, June.
    9. Bebchuk, Lucian Ayre & Chang, Howard F, 1992. "Bargaining and the Division of Value in Corporate Reorganization," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 8(2), pages 253-279, April.
    10. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    11. Baird, Douglas G, 1993. "Revisiting Auctions in Chapter 11," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 633-653, April.
    12. Espen Eckbo, B. & Thorburn, Karin S., 2003. "Control benefits and CEO discipline in automatic bankruptcy auctions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 227-258, July.
    13. Hansen, Robert G. & Thomas, Randall S., 1998. "Auctions in bankruptcy: theoretical analysis and practical guidance," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 159-185, June.
    14. repec:cep:stitep:/1992/250 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Hotchkiss, Edith S. & Mooradian, Robert M., 2003. "Auctions in bankruptcy," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 9(5), pages 555-574, November.
    16. Gertner, Robert & Scharfstein, David, 1991. "A Theory of Workouts and the Effects of Reorganization Law," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(4), pages 1189-1222, September.
    17. Per Strömberg, 2000. "Conflicts of Interest and Market Illiquidity in Bankruptcy Auctions: Theory and Tests," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(6), pages 2641-2692, December.
    18. Thorburn, Karin S., 2000. "Bankruptcy auctions: costs, debt recovery, and firm survival," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(3), pages 337-368, December.
    19. repec:bla:jfinan:v:44:y:1989:i:3:p:747-69 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Weiss, Lawrence A., 1990. "Bankruptcy resolution: Direct costs and violation of priority of claims," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 285-314, October.
    21. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:5:p:1495-1532 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Hotchkiss, Edith S. & Mooradian, Robert M., 1998. "Acquisitions as a Means of Restructuring Firms in Chapter 11," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 240-262, July.
    23. Tashjian, Elizabeth & Lease, Ronald C. & McConnell, John J., 1996. "An empirical analysis of prepackaged bankruptcies," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 135-162, January.
    24. Hotchkiss, Edith S. & Mooradian, Robert M., 1997. "Vulture investors and the market for control of distressed firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 401-432, March.
    25. Brown, David T, 1989. "Claimholder Incentive Conflicts in Reorganization: The Role of Bankruptcy Law," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 2(1), pages 109-123.
    26. Berkovitch, Elazar & Israel, Ronen & Zender, Jaime F., 1997. "Optimal bankruptcy law and firm-specific investments," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(3-5), pages 487-497, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ciliberto, Federico & Schenone, Carola, 2012. "Bankruptcy and product-market competition: Evidence from the airline industry," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 564-577.
    2. Anna Dodonova & Yuri Khoroshilov, 2021. "Private Value Takeover Auctions with Toeholds: An Experimental Study," Games, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-10, May.
    3. Ciliberto, Federico & Schenone, Carola, 2012. "Are the bankrupt skies the friendliest?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 1217-1231.
    4. Blazy, Régis & Chopard, Bertrand & Fimayer, Agnès & Guigou, Jean-Daniel, 2011. "Employment preservation vs. creditors' repayment under bankruptcy law: The French dilemma?," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 126-141, June.
    5. Espen Eckbo, B. & Thorburn, S. Karin, 2008. "Automatic bankruptcy auctions and fire-sales," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(3), pages 404-422, September.
    6. Li, Kai & Wang, Wei, 2016. "Debtor-in-possession financing, loan-to-loan, and loan-to-own," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 121-138.
    7. Betton, Sandra & Eckbo, B. Espen & Thorburn, Karin S., 2009. "Merger negotiations and the toehold puzzle," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 158-178, February.
    8. Eckbo, B. Espen, 2009. "Bidding strategies and takeover premiums: A review," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 149-178, February.
    9. Mariya N. Ivanova & Henrik Nilsson & Milda Tylaite, 2024. "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery: Directors’ and CEOs’ prior bankruptcy experiences and the financial risk of their current firms," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1-2), pages 595-630, January.
    10. Netter, Jeffry & Poulsen, Annette & Stegemoller, Mike, 2009. "The rise of corporate governance in corporate control research," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, February.
    11. B. Espen Eckbo & Karin S. Thorburn, 2009. "Bankruptcy as an Auction Process: Lessons from Sweden," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 21(3), pages 38-52, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Eckbo, B. Espen & Thorburn, Karin S., 2004. "Bidding in mandatory bankruptcy auctions: Theory and evidence," Discussion Papers 2004/16, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Business and Management Science.
    2. Espen Eckbo, B. & Thorburn, S. Karin, 2008. "Automatic bankruptcy auctions and fire-sales," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(3), pages 404-422, September.
    3. Eckbo, B Espen & Thorburn, Karin S, 2002. "Overbidding versus Fire-Sales in Bankruptcy Auctions," CEPR Discussion Papers 3240, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Chopard, Bertrand, 2004. "Enchères, redressement ou liquidation judiciaire," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 80(4), pages 655-669, Décembre.
    5. Michelle J. White, 2005. "Economic Analysis of Corporate and Personal Bankruptcy Law," NBER Working Papers 11536, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Thorburn, Karin S., 2000. "Bankruptcy auctions: costs, debt recovery, and firm survival," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(3), pages 337-368, December.
    7. Hotchkiss, Edith S. & Mooradian, Robert M., 2003. "Auctions in bankruptcy," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 9(5), pages 555-574, November.
    8. Per Stromberg, "undated". "Conflicts of Interest and Market Illiquidity in Bankruptcy Auctions: Theory and Tests," CRSP working papers 459, Center for Research in Security Prices, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago.
    9. B. Espen Eckbo & Karin S. Thorburn, 2009. "Bankruptcy as an Auction Process: Lessons from Sweden," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 21(3), pages 38-52, June.
    10. Eckbo, B. Espen, 2009. "Bidding strategies and takeover premiums: A review," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 149-178, February.
    11. Xavier Giné & Inessa Love, 2010. "Do Reorganization Costs Matter for Efficiency? Evidence from a Bankruptcy Reform in Colombia," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(4), pages 833-864.
    12. Alexander Dilger, 2006. "Forced to make mistakes: Reasons for complaining about Bebchuk's scheme and other market-oriented insolvency procedures," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 79-94, January.
    13. Hotchkiss, Edith S. & Mooradian, Robert M., 1998. "Acquisitions as a Means of Restructuring Firms in Chapter 11," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 240-262, July.
    14. Oscar Couwenberg & Abe Jong, 2008. "Costs and recovery rates in the Dutch liquidation-based bankruptcy system," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 105-127, October.
    15. Bernstein, Shai & Colonnelli, Emanuele & Giroud, Xavier & Iverson, Benjamin, 2019. "Bankruptcy spillovers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(3), pages 608-633.
    16. Bebchuk, Lucian Arye, 2001. "Ex Ante Costs of Violating Absolute Priority in Bankruptcy," CEPR Discussion Papers 2914, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Dinev, Nikolay, 2017. "Voluntary Bankruptcy as Preemptive Persuasion," Economics Series 334, Institute for Advanced Studies.
    18. Carapeto, Maria, 2007. "An examination of multiple plans in Chapter 11 reorganizations," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 279-293, October.
    19. Amel Alic & Habibović Sedin & Haris Cerić, 2024. "Interdisciplinary View into Optimism and Pessimism in Emic Perspective," European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 4.
    20. Annabi, Amira & Breton, Michèle & François, Pascal, 2012. "Resolution of financial distress under Chapter 11," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 36(12), pages 1867-1887.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:15:y:2009:i:1:p:10-29. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jcorpfin .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.