A possible explanation for this finding is that over time, the benefits of an acquisition are increasingly reflected in normal operations and therefore, the value is captured in earnings, rather than the goodwill asset. Consider, for example, the acquisition of Southcorp Ltd by Foster’s Group Ltd in 2005. Foster’s recognised substantial goodwill ($1,548 million) on acquisition and indicated that expected synergies from the purchase will range between $270 and $310 million in the following three years.2 Substantial cost-cutting with the sale of two wineries announced shortly after the acquisition, however, implies that some of the unidentified benefits of the acquisition originally recognised as goodwill will subsequently be reflected through income as cost savings. In these circumstances it is possible that the market will price the earnings-reflected benefit, but not the related goodwill, once the earnings effect is reported. An alternative explanation for our findings may be found in the takeover literature, which provides evidence that firms generally fail to achieve post-merger improvements in performance; our results may reflect the market discounting the value of goodwill when it becomes evident the acquisition has not added value.