Price Discovery in the CDS Market: Evidence from Corporate Acquisitions

Abstract

This study examines the contribution of credit default swaps (CDS) to price discovery in the run-up period preceding an acquisition announcement. We find that the CDS market plays a significant role in price formation before cross-border acquisitions, especially when target firms are from emerging economies. Further, the information flow from the CDS to the equity market is more pronounced when the bidder has a higher risk of default and the target nation has greater information asymmetry, weaker governance, and lower creditor protections. Our results are consistent with preferential use of the CDS market by informed traders ahead of negative credit news to hedge increased default risk or speculatively front-run widening credit spreads.