The Berger and Ofek (1995) excess value measure, comparing a conglomerate’s actual market value to an imputed value based on standalones, has become the standard method to determine value effects of diversification. In this paper, we address a significant bias in this procedure stemming from...

The Berger and Ofek (1995) excess value measure, comparing a conglomerate's actual market value to an imputed value based on standalones, has become the standard method to determine value effects of diversification. In this paper, we address a significant bias in this procedure stemming from the...

This paper investigates how the 2008-2009 financial crisis affected the value of diversification in different regions of the world, thereby emphasizing the role of the institutional context. We show that the effect of the credit crunch upon the diversification discount varied with the regions'...