Do firms actively manage media coverage when issuing convertible bonds? Evidence from China

ABSTRACT

This article investigates whether, when and how firms actively manage media coverage when they plan to issue convertible bonds. Using a sample of listed firms that issued convertible bonds between 2010 and 2020 in China, we find that both firms’ media coverage and positive slant increase one month before issuances and active media management has a positive impact on conversion prices. Overall, our results support the active media management hypothesis and verify that firms actively manage media coverage prior to convertible bond issuances.

KEYWORDS:

• Media coverage
• media slant
• convertible bond
• conversion price

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• G32
• G14

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province [2021A1515011986].