An examination of the voluntary recognition of acquired brand names in the United Kingdom

This study examines UK firms' contracting cost incentives for capitalizing estimates of brand value. Results indicate that firms' decisions to capitalize acquired brands were influenced by the impact that the immediate write-off of goodwill to equity has on the London Stock Exchange's shareholder approval requirement for future acquisitions and disposals. These findings provide evidence of contracting costs that result from stock exchange mandated shareholder approval rules for planned transactions. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. JEL classification: M41.