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A Study on the Stock Price Reaction of Restructured Firms

Lee, Sangu · Choi, Giho

Published: January 2002 · Vol. 31, No. 3 · pp. 723-749
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Abstract

This study examined the stock price reactions of firms that filed for corporate reorganization (court receivership) and composition (accord) and initiated restructuring. Investors make ex ante predictions of the ultimate probability of bankruptcy based on the financial condition of the restructuring firm and revise their predictions according to the information content of events related to restructuring. Therefore, the stock price reaction on the event date of restructuring can be determined by the magnitude and direction in which investors revise their ex ante predictions. In this context, this study examined the stock price reactions of 65 firms that filed for composition and corporate reorganization in 1997 and 1998, and 50 firms that received commencement decisions from the court. The main empirical results are as follows. First, different stock price reactions were observed on the restructuring filing date and the commencement decision date. Specifically, negative cumulative abnormal returns appeared on the filing date, while positive cumulative abnormal returns appeared on the commencement decision date. Second, different stock price reactions were observed depending on the firm's financial condition. The group with better financial condition exhibited larger negative cumulative abnormal returns on the filing date and larger positive cumulative abnormal returns on the commencement decision date. Third, the study examined whether stock price reactions differed by restructuring type, distinguishing between composition and corporate reorganization. When financial condition was not controlled, different stock price reactions were observed; however, after controlling for financial condition, no differential stock price reactions by restructuring type were observed.
Keywords: financial statusstock pricesthe type of legal reorganizations