Asset Sales, Investment Opportunities,
and the Use of Proceeds

作者：THOMAS W. BATES

THE JOURNAL OF FINANCE • VOL. LX, NO. 1 • FEBRUARY 2005

ABSTRACT
This study examines the allocation of cash proceeds following 400 subsidiary sales
between 1990 and 1998. Retention probabilities are increasing in the divesting firm’s
contemporaneous growth opportunities and expected investment. Retaining firms,
however, also systematically overinvest relative to an industry benchmark. Shareholder
returns to retention decisions are positively correlated with growth opportunities
and benchmarked investment, but negatively correlated with benchmarked
investment for firms with poor growth opportunities. Shareholder returns to debt distributions
are increasing in industry-benchmarked leverage. Overall, the results of
this study cohere with the hypothesized trade-off between the investment efficiencies
associated with retained proceeds and the agency costs of managerial discretion and
debt.