Debt Financing and Balance-Sheet Collateral: Evidence from Fair-Value Adjustments

56 Pages Posted: 8 Sep 2017 Last revised: 12 Feb 2024

See all articles by Aleksander A. Aleszczyk

Aleksander A. Aleszczyk

New York University (NYU) - Leonard N. Stern School of Business; London Business School

Emmanuel T. De George

University of Miami - Department of Accounting

Aytekin Ertan

London Business School

Florin P. Vasvari

London Business School

Date Written: September 1, 2020

Abstract

Using a novel hand-collected dataset of business combination disclosures, we investigate whether reported fair-value adjustments (FVAs) are associated with subsequent changes in the acquiring entity’s borrowing activity and debt contracting terms. FVAs represent the difference between the fair market value and the book value of a target’s net assets at the time of acquisition. We document that FVAs have a significant and positive impact on the balance sheet of the combined entity. Specifically, on average, reported FVAs on non-goodwill assets result in a 60 percent increase in the value of the target’s assets, and a 5.6 percent increase in the total assets of the acquirer. In multivariate analysis we find that FVAs are consistently associated with an increase in debt issuance in the post-deal period. Moreover, we find that this new debt is cheaper, more likely to be secured, has longer-term maturities, and tends to include more balance sheet covenants. Notably, the documented improvement in debt contracting terms is primarily attributable to FVAs on tangible assets, as opposed to intangible assets. Taken together, our findings suggest that fair value measurement of balance sheet assets provides lenders with important credit-relevant information about firms’ collateralizable assets.

Keywords: fair value adjustments, debt contracting, mergers & acquisitions, collateral

JEL Classification: M41, G32, G34, G12

Suggested Citation

Aleszczyk, Aleksander and De George, Emmanuel T. and Ertan, Aytekin and Vasvari, Florin P., Debt Financing and Balance-Sheet Collateral: Evidence from Fair-Value Adjustments (September 1, 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3032580 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3032580

Aleksander Aleszczyk

New York University (NYU) - Leonard N. Stern School of Business ( email )

44 West 4th Street
New York, NY NY 10012
United States

London Business School ( email )

Sussex Place
Regent's Park
London, NW1 4SA
United Kingdom

Emmanuel T. De George

University of Miami - Department of Accounting ( email )

Coral Gables, FL 33146-6531
United States
305-284-2273 (Phone)

Aytekin Ertan

London Business School ( email )

Sussex Place
Regent's Park
London, London NW1 4SA
United Kingdom
00442070008131 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.aytekinertan.com

Florin P. Vasvari (Contact Author)

London Business School ( email )

Sussex Place
Regent's Park
London, London NW1 4SA
United Kingdom

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
558
Abstract Views
3,612
Rank
99,630
PlumX Metrics