Firm opacity and informed trading around spinoffs

Purpose This paper aims to examine the prevalence of informed trading around corporate spinoffs and the relation between firm opacity and informed trading using option market data. Design/methodology/approach The author investigates the prevalence of informed trading by examining the relationship between abnormal stock returns associated with spinoffs and the volatility spread/volatility skewness of options prior to the spinoffs. Furthermore, the author examines how opacity and organizational complexity prior to the spinoffs affect informed trading. Findings The study shows that option volatility spread and volatility skewness for the five days prior to the spinoffs can predict the abnormal stock returns on the spinoff announcement days, suggesting that there is informed trading in the options market prior to spinoffs. The study shows that informed trading is more prevalent for firms that are more opaque prior to the spinoff. Furthermore, informed trading decreases after spinoffs. Originality/value To the best of knowledge, this is the first empirical research that examines the prevalence of informed trading around spinoffs by using options volatility spread/skewness and the relation between firm opacity and informed options trading.