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The WACC Fallacy: The Real Effects of Using a Unique Discount Rate

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  • David Thesmar

    (GREGH - Groupement de Recherche et d'Etudes en Gestion à HEC - HEC Paris - Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • P. Kruger
  • Augustin Landier

Abstract

type="main"> In this paper, we test whether firms properly adjust for risk in their capital budgeting decisions. If managers use a single discount rate within firms, we expect that conglomerates underinvest (overinvest) in relatively safe (risky) divisions. We measure division relative risk as the difference between the division's asset beta and a firm-wide beta. We establish a robust and significant positive relationship between division-level investment and division relative risk. Next, we measure the value loss due to this behavior in the context of acquisitions. When the bidder's beta is lower than that of the target, announcement returns are significantly lower.
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Suggested Citation

  • David Thesmar & P. Kruger & Augustin Landier, 2011. "The WACC Fallacy: The Real Effects of Using a Unique Discount Rate," Post-Print hal-00578326, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00578326
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    WACC Fallacy; Effect; Discount Rate;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

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