51: Forget The Election, M&A is Rigged, NYU Professor Says

M&A is a rigged game and the losers are shareholders of companies that do the acquiring, according to Aswath Damodaran, a professor of corporate finance and valuation at New York University. He tells host Alex Sherman that conflicts of interest among advisers, misaligned executive incentives and a refusal to involve the market in decision-making has led to a history of value-destroying deals. Still, October was the biggest month ever in terms of deal volume. Why do companies keep making big purchases when some evidence suggests it's bad for shareholders? Damodaran explains on this week's episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.