IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/bbe/wpaper/0802.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Why do Convertible Issuers simultaneously Repurchase Stock? An Arbitrage-based Explanation

Author

Listed:
  • Marie Dutordoir

    (University Rotterdam of Management)

  • Patrick Verwijmeren

    (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

Abstract

We examine why firms combine convertible debt offerings with stock repurchases. In 2006, 33% of the convertible issuers in the US simultaneously repurchased Stock. These combined transactions are inconsistent with traditional motivations for convertible issuance. We document that convertible arbitrage drives these stock repurchases. Convertible debt arbitrageurs simultaneously buy convertibles and short sell the issuer's common stock, resulting in downward pressure on the stock price. To prevent such short-selling activity, firms repurchase their stock directly from arbitrageurs. We show that combined transactions exhibit lower short-selling activity and that convertible arbitrage explains both the size and speed of the stock repurchases.

Suggested Citation

  • Marie Dutordoir & Patrick Verwijmeren, 2008. "Why do Convertible Issuers simultaneously Repurchase Stock? An Arbitrage-based Explanation," Working Papers 0802, Departament Empresa, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, revised Feb 2008.
  • Handle: RePEc:bbe:wpaper:0802
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.uab.cat/servlet/BlobServer?blobtable=Document&blobcol=urldocument&blobheader=application/pdf&blobkey=id&blobwhere=1345650662158&blobnocache=true
    File Function: Revised version, 2008
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stein, Jeremy C., 1992. "Convertible bonds as backdoor equity financing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 3-21, August.
    2. Brennan, Michael J & Kraus, Alan, 1987. "Efficient Financing under Asymmetric Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 42(5), pages 1225-1243, December.
    3. Carol Marquardt & Christine Wiedman, 2005. "Earnings Management through Transaction Structuring: Contingent Convertible Debt and Diluted Earnings per Share," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(2), pages 205-243, May.
    4. Craig M. Lewis & Richard J. Rogalski & James K. Seward, 1999. "Is Convertible Debt a Substitute for Straight Debt or for Common Equity?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 28(3), Fall.
    5. 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.
    6. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:1:p:313-333 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Lasse Heje Pedersen & Mark Mitchell & Todd Pulvino, 2007. "Slow Moving Capital," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(2), pages 215-220, May.
    8. Myers, Stewart C., 1984. "Capital structure puzzle," Working papers 1548-84., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management.
    9. D'Avolio, Gene, 2002. "The market for borrowing stock," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2-3), pages 271-306.
    10. Brent, Averil & Morse, Dale & Stice, E. Kay, 1990. "Short Interest: Explanations and Tests," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(2), pages 273-289, June.
    11. Mayers, David, 1998. "Why firms issue convertible bonds: the matching of financial and real investment options," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 83-102, January.
    12. Davidson, Wallace N. & Glascock, John L. & Schwarz, Thomas V., 1995. "Signaling with Convertible Debt," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 30(3), pages 425-440, September.
    13. Myers, Stewart C, 1984. "The Capital Structure Puzzle," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 39(3), pages 575-592, July.
    14. Vermaelen, Theo, 1984. "Repurchase Tender Offers, Signaling, and Managerial Incentives," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 163-181, June.
    15. Diamond, Douglas W. & Verrecchia, Robert E., 1987. "Constraints on short-selling and asset price adjustment to private information," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 277-311, June.
    16. Stewart C. Myers, 1984. "Capital Structure Puzzle," NBER Working Papers 1393, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:6:p:2205-2223 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Bens, Daniel A. & Nagar, Venky & Skinner, Douglas J. & Wong, M. H. Franco, 2003. "Employee stock options, EPS dilution, and stock repurchases," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1-3), pages 51-90, December.
    19. Ammann, Manuel & Kind, Axel & Wilde, Christian, 2003. "Are convertible bonds underpriced? An analysis of the French market," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 635-653, April.
    20. Sudipto Bhattacharya, 1979. "Imperfect Information, Dividend Policy, and "The Bird in the Hand" Fallacy," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(1), pages 259-270, Spring.
    21. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:1:p:391-405 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Senchack, A. J. & Starks, Laura T., 1993. "Short-Sale Restrictions and Market Reaction to Short-Interest Announcements," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 28(2), pages 177-194, June.
    23. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:1:p:31-63 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Lewis, Craig M. & Rogalski, Richard J. & Seward, James K., 2003. "Industry conditions, growth opportunities and market reactions to convertible debt financing decisions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 27(1), pages 153-181, January.
    25. Ackert, Lucy F. & Athanassakos, George, 2005. "The relationship between short interest and stock returns in the Canadian market," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(7), pages 1729-1749, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. de Jong, Abe & Dutordoir, Marie & Verwijmeren, Patrick, 2011. "Why do convertible issuers simultaneously repurchase stock? An arbitrage-based explanation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 113-129, April.
    2. Marie Dutordoir & Linda Van de Gucht, 2009. "Why Do Western European Firms Issue Convertibles Instead of Straight Debt or Equity?," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 15(3), pages 563-583, June.
    3. Dutordoir, Marie & Lewis, Craig & Seward, James & Veld, Chris, 2014. "What we do and do not know about convertible bond financing," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 3-20.
    4. Li, Xiaoyang & Lin, Shannon & Tucker, Alan L., 2016. "The curious case of converts," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 1-17.
    5. Mohamed, Hisham Hanifa & Masih, Mansur & Bacha, Obiyathulla I., 2015. "Why do issuers issue Sukuk or conventional bond? Evidence from Malaysian listed firms using partial adjustment models," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 233-252.
    6. Dutordoir, M.D.R.P. & Van de Gucht, L., 2006. "Are There Windows of Opportunity for Convertible Debt Issuance? Evidence for Western Europe," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2006-055-F&A, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    7. Ettore Crocia & John A. Doukas & Halit Gonenc, 2010. "Family Control and Financing Decisions," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 1004, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
    8. Hanifa, Mohamed Hisham & Masih, Mansur & Bacha, Obiyathulla, 2014. "Testing Sukuk And Conventional Bond Offers Based On Corporate Financing Theories Using Partial Adjustment Models: Evidence From Malaysian Listed Firms," MPRA Paper 56953, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Dutordoir, Marie & Van de Gucht, Linda, 2007. "Are there windows of opportunity for convertible debt issuance? Evidence for Western Europe," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(9), pages 2828-2846, September.
    10. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R., 2001. "The theory and practice of corporate finance: evidence from the field," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(2-3), pages 187-243, May.
    11. Ernan Haruvy & Charles N. Noussair & Owen Powell, 2014. "The Impact of Asset Repurchases and Issues in an Experimental Market," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 18(2), pages 681-713.
    12. Lewis, Craig & Verwijmeren, Patrick, 2014. "Cash-settled convertible bonds and the value relevance of their accounting treatment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 101-111.
    13. Jung, Mookwon & Sullivan, Michael J., 2009. "The signaling effects associated with convertible debt design," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(12), pages 1358-1363, December.
    14. Gomes, Armando & Phillips, Gordon, 2012. "Why do public firms issue private and public securities?," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 21(4), pages 619-658.
    15. Dong, Ming & Dutordoir, Marie & Veld, Chris, 2019. "How can we improve inferences from surveys? A new look at the convertible debt questions from the Graham and Harvey survey data," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 213-222.
    16. King, Tao-Hsien Dolly & Mauer, David C., 2014. "Determinants of corporate call policy for convertible bonds," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 112-134.
    17. Apergis, Nicholas & Chasiotis, Ioannis & Georgantopoulos, Andreas G. & Konstantios, Dimitrios, 2021. "The integration of share repurchases into investment decision-making: Evidence from Japan," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    18. Chai, D.H., 2010. "Foreign Corporate Ownership and Dividends," Working Papers wp401, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    19. Lewis, Craig M. & Verwijmeren, Patrick, 2011. "Convertible security design and contract innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 809-831, September.
    20. Anton Miglo, 2020. "Zero-Debt Policy under Asymmetric Information, Flexibility and Free Cash Flow Considerations," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-25, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Convertible debt; convertible arbitrage; stock repurchases.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:bbe:wpaper:0802. 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: Departament Empresa (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://158.109.224.4/webeco/plaes/RePEc/bbe/ .

    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.