Larger Return to Cash Acquisitions: Signaling Effect or Leverage Effect?

This article investigates the signaling theory and the benefit of debt theory to explain higher returns for bidders offering cash rather than stock, using Standard and Poor's debt rating reviews and changes. Results imply that cash acquisitions and stock acquisitions have different sources of value creation. Benefit of debt seems to be the main source of value in cash acquisitions, whereas the synergy effect outweighs the leverage effect in stock takeovers. Although stock appears to be used for the most unsuccessful acquisitions, this study does not find convincing evidence that cash is used for good acquisitions.