The Impact of Antitakeover Devices on the Valuation Consequences of Voluntary Corporate Selloffs

This study reveals that there are valuation differences in the announcement effects among firms engaged in interfirm asset sales. Even though, in the aggregate, these selloffs result in significant increases in share prices, there is a group of firms that experience no significant increases in shareholder wealth. These are firms that have adopted antitake-over devices prior to announcing corporate selloffs. For these firms, public perception about management's intention has been altered to the extent that the selloffs are interpreted as a way to consolidate the antitakeover position of the management.