Foreign vs domestic ownership on debt reduction: An investigation of acquisition targets in Italy and Spain
研究了2002-2010年间意大利和西班牙被收购公司中，外国与国内所有权对债务水平的不同影响，发现外国收购显著且稳定地降低了目标公司的债务比率。
This paper examines the role of foreign versus domestic ownership in reducing the debt levels of acquired firms in Italy and Spain over the period 2002–2010. Acknowledging that lower debt levels can mitigate the risk of failure and thus enhance the chances for a positive post-acquisition performance and survival, we particularly examine the causal effect of foreign and domestic acquisitions on two firm-level debt measures: gearing and short-term leverage. To estimate causal relationships, we control for selection bias by applying propensity score matching techniques. Our results indicate that foreign acquisition leads to a significant and steady reduction in the debt ratios of the target companies. In contrast, the relationship between domestic acquisition and debt reduction appears to be smaller and statistically less robust.