Merger Arbitrage and Valuation
We are sometimes asked to value common equity securities where the target (usually our client) has agreed to be acquired but the transaction has not yet closed. The valuation could be required for a number of reasons: annual year-end ESOP/KSOP valuation, tax compliance matters, and litigation.
The valuation of such shares falls into the genre of “merger arbitrage” which on Wall Street is an “event-driven” asset strategy. Merger arbitrage strategies seek to capture a risk-adjusted return for the risk assumed that the transaction will not close. As time passes, discounts tend to narrow as the closing date approaches absent detrimental developments.
The S&P Merger Arbitrage Index produced total returns on an unlevered basis between 2018 and 2022 that ranged between 6.1% in 2021 and -4.2% in 2022. The five-year compound annual return was 3.2% or 1.9% over the average 90-day T-bill yield.
Given the uncertainty that an announced transaction will close for a variety of reasons (e.g., regulatory, shareholder actions, financing, etc.), acquisition targets that are publicly traded will usually trade at a discount to the acquisition price. In instances when a competing offer is expected, the target’s shares may trade at a premium, though this is unusual given the vetting process most boards undertake.
The valuation of privately held shares in a merger arb situation can be reduced to a binomial outcome: the deal closes, or it does not. The two outcomes may be close in value or they may be far apart, especially if minority and illiquidity discounts are to be considered in the no-deal scenario. Factors that may impact the discount between the target’s market price and the deal price include:
Expected time to close;
Cost of capital as reflected in short-term borrowing rates;
Shareholder support (or opposition);
Likelihood of regulatory approval;
Ability to finance;
Whether the buyer will pay ticking fees; and
The delta between the acquisition price and no deal value of the target.
Our observation of bank stocks over several decades leads us to the conclusion that bank merger arbitrage discounts are modest in the order of high single digits to 10% or so on an annualized basis. However, it is important to note that fact patterns for individual transactions can cause discounts to be wider. Stated more succinctly: most announced bank deals close. ...
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Public Market Indicators
M&A Market Indicators