Why Do Firms Issue Convertible Debt?
通过调查更新了企业发行可转换债券的动机，发现主要目的是替代普通债券以降低票息率、保留现金流，并提供了关于股权稀释和监管创新Rule 144A的早期证据。
Randall S. Billingsley is Associate Professor of Finance in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia. David M Smith is Associate Professor of Finance at the University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, New York. This paper updates several widely cited studies on the motivation for convertible debt issuance. Our recent survey finds that firms use convertibles primarily as an alternative to straight debt, employing a conversion feature to buy down the coupon rate and thus preserve cash flow. The results confirm a decreasing reliance on convertibles as delayed equity financing. Cumulative abnormal returns are related to managers' estimates of the degree of equity underpricing, and to the degree of potential equity dilution associated with the convertible issue. Early evidence is also provided on managers' views of the recent regulatory innovation, Rule 144A.