Disclosures About Key Value Drivers in M&A Announcement Press Releases: An Exploratory Study
研究了并购公告新闻稿中关于增长、协同效应等关键价值驱动因素的披露与收购方公告期股票回报的关系，发现更多此类术语与更负面的市场回报相关，对投资者和管理者解读并购信号有参考价值。
We investigate the association between disclosures about key value drivers (i.e., growth, synergies, human capital, brands, customers, and technology) in press releases announcing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals and acquirer stock returns upon the announcement. We find that, after controlling for the main characteristics of the deal, acquirers that use more terms about these value drivers in press releases exhibit more negative market returns around the M&A announcement. An increase of 10% in the number of terms used about generic value drivers is associated with a decrease in announcement market‐adjusted returns of approximately 43 basis points. The negative association between terms about value drivers and acquirer stock returns is stronger for larger deals. We also find that disclosures about these value drivers in M&A announcement press releases are consistent with the subsequent subjective valuation of intangible assets recognized in acquirers’ financial statements through the purchase price allocation. Our findings are relevant for investors attempting to interpret early signals about the performance of M&A and for managers communicating about these strategic investment decisions.