The Wealth Effects of Merger Activities: Further Evidence from Real Estate Investment Trusts

This paper examines the effect of merger announcements on target firm shareholder wealth. The sample is limited to Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) targets. Previous corporate acquisition studies report strong pre-announcement and announcement day price appreciation for target firms. Significant positive abnormal returns are detected for the REIT targets at announcement but not during the pre-announcement period.

Dividend Decapitalization And Financial Performance Signals

This study examines the stock price response to dividend announcements which include a return of capital to owners.  The continuation of an amount previously distributed exclusively from earnings is effectively a dividend reduction.  Dividend cuts have been shown to provide an unfavorable signal to investors.  Empirical results indicate that the market does not infer unfavorable subsequent financial performance signals from “decapitalization” dividends