Chapter 31 Mergers 821
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increase in earnings per share for real growth. If they do, the price of World Enterprises stock
rises and the shareholders of both companies receive something for nothing.
This is a “bootstrap” or “chain letter” game. It generates earnings growth not from capital
investment or improved profitability, but from purchase of slowly growing firms with low
price–earnings ratios. If this fools investors, the financial manager may be able to puff up
stock price artificially. But to keep fooling investors, the firm has to continue to expand by
merger at the same compound rate. Clearly this cannot go on forever; one day expansion must
slow down or stop. At this point earnings growth falls dramatically and the house of cards
collapses.
This game is not often played these days, but you may still encounter managers who would
rather acquire firms with low price–earnings ratios. Beware of false prophets who suggest that
you can appraise mergers just by looking at their immediate impact on earnings per share.
Lower Financing Costs
You often hear it said that a merged firm is able to borrow more cheaply than its separate units
could. In part this is true. We have already seen (in Section 15-4) that there are economies
of scale in making new issues. Therefore, if firms can make fewer, larger security issues by
merging, there are genuine savings.
But when people say that borrowing costs are lower for the merged firm, they usually mean
something more than lower issue costs. They mean that when two firms merge, the combined
company can borrow at lower interest rates than either firm could separately. This, of course, is
exactly what we should expect in a well-functioning bond market. While the two firms are sep-
arate, they do not guarantee each other’s debt; if one fails, the bondholder cannot ask the other
for money. But after the merger each enterprise effectively does guarantee the other’s debt; if
one part of the business fails, the bondholders can still take their money out of the other part.
Because these mutual guarantees make the debt less risky, lenders demand a lower interest rate.
Does the lower interest rate mean a net gain to the merger? Not necessarily. Compare the
following two situations:
∙ Separate issues. Firm A and firm B each make a $50 million bond issue.
∙ Single issue. Firms A and B merge, and the new firm AB makes a single $100 million issue.
◗ FIGURE 31.3
Effects of merger on earnings growth.
By merging with Muck and Slurry, World
Enterprises increases current earnings but
accepts a slower rate of future growth. Its
stockholders should be no better or worse
off unless investors are fooled by the boot-
strap effect.
Source: S. C. Myers, “A Framework for Evaluating Mergers,”
in Modern Developments in Financial Management, ed.
S. C. Myers (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Inc., 1976),
Figure 1, p. 639. Copyright © 1976 Praeger.World Enterprises
before mergerWorld Enterprises
after mergerMuck and SlurryNowTime0.100.050.067Earnings per dollar invested(log scale)