Beschreibung:
We examine the market reaction to announcements of an intention to pursue a program of external acquisitions. Although the mean gain is positive, only firms with high Tobin’s q and low leverage experience significant abnormal returns. For firms with low q or high leverage, abnormal returns are zero. Moreover, the stock price reaction is an increasing function of q only for firms with low leverage. These results are consistent with the view that high leverage reduces the ability of a firm to take full advantage of profitable investment opportunities.