The paper examines the relationship between investments and cash flows for a panel of 204 low- and medium-technology firms located in the UK, France, Italy and Spain, 108 of which underwent a buyout between 1997 and 2004. The control sample of non-buyouts is selected through a propensity score...

Managers often claim that an important source of value in acquisitions is the acquiring firm's ability to finance investments for the target firm. This claim implies that targets are financially constrained prior to being acquired and that these constraints are eased following the acquisition....