While there is a large finance literature on the importance of synergy in mergers,there have been relatively few empirical studies that identify the specific sources of synergy and estimate their magnitudes. In this study, we concentrate on the value of synergy from combining two companies with...

A two-stage stock-financed merger occurs when an acquiring firm first issues shares, and then engages in a cash acquisition shortly afterward. Such deals allow us to test two important hypotheses derived from decoupling: by clienteles via segmentation and by time. The acquirer's value is...

We examine how capital structure considerations affect acquisition pricing and valuation. We find that debt capacity improvement is value-enhancing for all acquirers when they gradually reveal their growth opportunities to the market. This is reflected in the long-run stock market returns, both...