ABSTRACT

This study investigates the effect of news media coverage on trading activity in, and the liquidity of, target firms’ shares around acquisition announcements. We use the number of articles published in four of the UK's main newspapers as a proxy for media coverage. Our dataset includes 350 UK domestic acquisition deals between 1996 and 2014. The results of our analysis suggest that media coverage is positively associated with target firms’ trading activity and stock liquidity. This is consistent with the media playing a key role in mitigating information asymmetry in the financial markets. This study contributes to the literature on stock market reactions to acquisition announcements by investigating the effect of media coverage on trading activity and stock liquidity beyond the price run-up, and by providing additional insights into the UK market which traditionally attracts less attention than the US market.

摘要

本研究调查了新闻媒体报道对收购公告前后目标公司股票的交易活动和流动性的影响。我们使用在英国四家主要报纸上发表的文章数量作为媒体报道的代理。我们的数据集包括 1996 年至 2014 年间的 350 起英国国内收购交易。我们的分析结果表明，媒体报道与目标公司的交易活动和股票流动性呈正相关。这与媒体在缓解金融市场信息不对称方面发挥着关键作用是一致的。本研究通过调查媒体报道对价格上涨之外的交易活动和股票流动性的影响，为有关股票市场对收购公告的反应的文献做出贡献，