Strategic Equity Investment, Firm Value, and Corporate Governance: Evidence from Equity-Method Stock Investments
Meong Ae Kim
Using the firms listed on Korea Exchange during the period from 2003 to 2008, this paper investigates the effect of corporate governance characteristics on equity-method stock investment. The paper also examines how those characteristics affect the relation between equity-method stock investment and firm value. Equity-method stock investment decreases as the extent of shareholders¡¯ right protection increases or the distribution of firm¡¯s profit to investors increases. Moreover, equity-method stock investments tend to contribute to enhancing firm value as the shareholder protection is strong, the board is independent, or the large shareholders¡¯ ownership is high. The effect of large shareholders¡¯ ownership appears when the ownership is significantly high. Evidences from this paper suggest that strategic investment in other firm¡¯s equities is likely to lead to the enhancement of firm value instead of private benefit of the firm¡¯s controlling party when the governance system protects shareholders¡¯ interest and so mitigating agency problems.