The impact of mispricing and growth on UK M&As

This paper investigates the impact of mispricing and growth on salient aspects of 434 UK merger and acquisition (M&A) deals over the 1990-2009 period. Mispricing is proxied by both the 26-week high price and misvaluation given the deviation of target price from its estimated fundamental value. One or both of these variables has a significantly pervasive influence on all aspects of M&As studied. The target 26-week high price, misvaluation and growth all have a significant effect on both the offer premium and whether bidders pay with cash or stock for the full sample. The 26-week high price is the main driver for the overvalued (price exceeds value) target sub-sample and growth prospects for the undervalued target sub-sample. Short run abnormal returns around the announcement are driven by misvaluation only while offers in excess of the 26-week high and of fundamental value increase the probability of deal success.