Shareholder-lender Mergers and Capital Expenditure Forecasts

Abstract

Using mergers between lenders and shareholders of the same firm as an exogenous shock to dual holding, this study examines how the presence of dual holders (i.e., investors who hold both debt and equity claims) affects capital expenditure forecasts. Prior evidence suggests that capital expenditure forecasts can function as a commitment mechanism and help reduce contracting costs with creditors. I posit that the presence of dual holders reduces the marginal benefits of capital expenditure forecasts as dual holding mitigates shareholder-creditor conflicts. Consistent with this prediction, I find that capital expenditure forecasts decrease after the exogenous emergence of dual holders. The negative relation between dual holding and capital expenditure forecasts contrasts to the positive relation between dual holding and management earnings forecasts documented in a recent study, suggesting a multi-dimensional relation between dual holding and voluntary disclosures.

Date of Award	27 Apr 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Bing LI (Supervisor)