In mergers and acquisitions quot;fairness opinionsquot; are written evaluations of the financial terms of offers for target firms. We use simultaneous equations logit models to identify factors influencing the probabilities of firms obtaining third-party fairness opinions. We find that...

This paper examines the effect of the Smith v. Van Gorkom decision on the frequency of use of fairness opinions and the portion of financial advisor revenues that are earned from fairness opinions. There is an initial increase in the use of fairness opinions immediately following the decision....