Borrow Cheap, Buy High? The Determinants of Leverage and Pricing in Buyouts
基于1980至2008年国际样本，发现杠杆收购的杠杆率不受传统资本结构理论因素影响，而是由宏观经济信贷条件决定；高杠杆导致高交易价格和低基金回报，表明信贷宽松时收购方可能支付过高。
ABSTRACT Private equity funds pay particular attention to capital structure when executing leveraged buyouts, creating an interesting setting for examining capital structure theories. Using a large, international sample of buyouts from 1980 to 2008, we find that buyout leverage is unrelated to the cross‐sectional factors, suggested by traditional capital structure theories, that drive public firm leverage. Instead, variation in economy‐wide credit conditions is the main determinant of leverage in buyouts. Higher deal leverage is associated with higher transaction prices and lower buyout fund returns, suggesting that acquirers overpay when access to credit is easier.