Returns to Acquirers of Listed and Unlisted Targets: An Examination of Australian Bidders

We analyze the market reaction to the announcement of takeover bids initiated by Australian public firms on private and public targets. The results show that acquirers of private targets benefit from a significantly higher share price reevaluation. This so-called listing effect is broad-based and persistent. It does not appear to depend on whether the target is large or small; whether it is related or not to the bidder’s industry; whether it is domestic or cross-border; and whether it is in the resources sector or not. We find only minor evidence that bidder returns might be stronger for larger acquisitions of private targets; for targets in the resources sector; and in subdued market conditions such as in the wake of the global financial crisis. In addition, our selection model suggests that endogenous choice of target is unlikely to have produced biased results. Overall, our findings are supportive of the view that market frictions contribute to make private firms attractive targets.