Earnings Management, Lawsuits, and Stock-for-Stock Acquirers' Market Performance
47 Pages Posted: 18 Jan 2008 Last revised: 14 Apr 2008
There are 2 versions of this paper
Earnings Management, Lawsuits, and Stock-for-Stock Acquirers' Market Performance
Earnings Management, Lawsuits, and Stock-for-Stock Acquirers' Market Performance
Date Written: January 2008
Abstract
There is a positive association between stock-for-stock acquirers' pre-merger abnormal accruals and post-merger lawsuits. The probability of lawsuits is also negatively associated with both the market reaction to the merger announcement and the post-merger announcement long-term abnormal returns, indicating that the market only partially anticipates the effects of post-merger announcement lawsuits. Not only are post-merger lawsuits associated with post-merger underperformance, but they are also likely drivers of the underperformance. The study suggests that it is important that investors not only undo the direct stock price effects of earnings management but also factor the contingent legal costs associated with earnings management.
Keywords: Stock-for-stock merger, earnings management, lawsuit, market efficiency
JEL Classification: G14, G34, M41, M43, K22
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?
Recommended Papers
-
New Evidence and Perspectives on Mergers
By Gregor Andrade, Mark L. Mitchell, ...
-
Do Managerial Objectives Drive Bad Acquisitions?
By Randall Morck, Andrei Shleifer, ...
-
Stock Market Driven Acquisitions
By Andrei Shleifer and Robert W. Vishny
-
Stock Market Driven Acquisitions
By Andrei Shleifer and Robert W. Vishny
-
Poison or Placebo? Evidence on the Deterrent and Wealth Effects of Modern Antitakeover Measures
By Robert Comment and G. William Schwert
-
Does Corporate Performance Improve after Mergers?
By Paul M. Healy, Krishna Palepu, ...
-
Managerial Performance, Tobin's Q, and the Gains from Successful Tender Offers
By Larry H.p. Lang, Ralph A. Walkling, ...