The Wealth Effects of Corporate Real Estate Leasing

This paper resents an event-time study of the wealth effects associated with the corporate decision to lease real estate assets. The analysis provides a measure of the valuation consequences of real estate lease transactions for corporate lessees to determine whether such transactions offer a net benefit to lessees in terms of a common stock price change. Examining a sample of sixty-seven corporate lease announcements reveals that positive abnormal returns accrue to the lessee firm and suggests that, on average, real estate leasing decisions benefit the corporate stockholders. We interpret these findings as consistent with the hypothesis that managers, in making real estate lease decisions, seek to maximize firm value.