Appraisal Arbitrage and Shareholder Value

56 Pages Posted: 14 Nov 2017 Last revised: 18 Mar 2018

See all articles by Scott Callahan

Scott Callahan

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Rutgers Business School at Newark & New Brunswick

Darius Palia

Rutgers University, Newark, School of Business-Newark, Department of Finance & Economics; Columbia University - Law School

Eric L. Talley

Columbia University - School of Law; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)

Date Written: March 14, 2018

Abstract

Post-merger appraisal rights have been the focus of heated controversy within mergers and acquisitions circles in recent years. Traditionally perceived as an arcane and cabalistic proceeding, the appraisal action has recently come to occupy center stage through the ascendancy of appraisal arbitrage-whereby investors purchase target-company shares shortly after an announcement principally to pursue appraisal. Such strategies became more feasible and profitable a decade ago, on the heels of two seemingly technocratic reforms in Delaware: (i) the statutory codification of prejudgment interest, pegging a presumptive rate at five percent above the federal discount rate; and (ii) the Transkaryotic opinion, which effectively sanctified appraisal claims trading. Several commentators have decried appraisal arbitrage as visiting unnecessary risks and costs on deal certainty and pricing, advancing the position that it reduces / destroys target shareholder value. This paper interrogates such claims both theoretically and empirically, testing the predictions of an auction-design model that assesses appraisal's price and welfare effects. We find-consistent with comparative statics of our model-that the appraisal-liberalizing events of 2007 were associated with a significant increase in deal premia, as the enhanced credibility of appraisal had the effect of raising the de facto "reserve price" associated with M&A auctions. We further find little evidence that liberalized appraisal rights stifled the incidence of appraisal eligible deals. When interpreted through the lens of our auction-design model, our findings suggest that target-company shareholders likely benefited ex ante from liberalized appraisal, regardless of whether they subsequently sought appraisal or not.

Keywords: Appraisal arbitrage, valuation, litigation, company auctions

JEL Classification: K00, K22, G00, G12, G14

Suggested Citation

Callahan, Scott and Palia, Darius and Talley, Eric L., Appraisal Arbitrage and Shareholder Value (March 14, 2018). Journal of Law, Finance & Accounting, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3067491 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3067491

Scott Callahan

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Rutgers Business School at Newark & New Brunswick ( email )

1 Washington Park
Newark, NJ 07102
United States

Darius Palia

Rutgers University, Newark, School of Business-Newark, Department of Finance & Economics ( email )

111 Washington Street
MEC 134
Newark, NJ 07102
United States
973-353-5981 (Phone)
973-353-1233 (Fax)

Columbia University - Law School ( email )

435 W 116th St.
New York, NY 10027
United States

Eric L. Talley (Contact Author)

Columbia University - School of Law ( email )

435 West 116th Street
New York, NY 10025
United States

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

European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) ( email )

c/o the Royal Academies of Belgium
Rue Ducale 1 Hertogsstraat
1000 Brussels
Belgium

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