Evaluating the market reaction to UK divestitures

dc.contributor.authorCao, J.
dc.contributor.authorOwen, S.
dc.contributor.authorYawson, A.
dc.date.issued2006
dc.description.abstractPurpose – To determine whether the abnormal returns accruing to UK companies undertaking a divestiture are different when the unit sold is in the UK or elsewhere and to specifically hypothesize that returns generated by a domestic sale will be higher than those resulting from an overseas sale. Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of 668 divestitures reported on securities data corporation (SDC) Platinum database, and share price data from DataStream, both abnormal returns and cumulative abnormal returns (CARs) are calculated around the announcement date using the market model. Findings – That the announcement of a divestiture generates positive abnormal returns for shareholders. Further, that the announcement of a UK divestiture generates a significantly larger positive market reaction than the announcement of an overseas divestiture. For the divestiture of units located outside the UK it is found that the largest CARs are generated when the buying firm is based in the UK. Originality/value – Here the existing work on divestiture announcement effects is extended by taking into account the location of the divested unit and the location of the buying firm. This allows one to investigate whether market reaction to an announcement of a divestiture is influenced by both the location of the unit sold and the location of the buying company.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityJack Cao, Sian Owen and Alfred Yawson
dc.identifier.citationManagement Research Review: Communication of emergent international management research, 2006; 29(8):471-479
dc.identifier.doi10.1108/01409170610692798
dc.identifier.issn0140-9174
dc.identifier.orcidYawson, A. [0000-0002-5000-7871]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/66813
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherEmerald Group Publishing Ltd.
dc.relation.doi10.1108/01409170610692798
dc.rights© 2006 Emerald Group Publishing Limited
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1108/01409170610692798
dc.subjectAcquisitions and mergers
dc.subjectDivestment
dc.subjectMultinational companies
dc.subjectRate of return
dc.subjectShare values
dc.titleEvaluating the market reaction to UK divestitures
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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