The results also indicate that high-leverage firms have significantly lower current
ratios than low-leverage firms. In addition, high-leverage firms sell more long-lived
assets than do low-leverage firms. The median and mean sales of long-lived assets as a
percentage of the market value of common equity of high-leverage firms significantly
exceed (at a 1 percent level for two-tailed tests) those of low-leverage firms. The difference
between the two samples with respect to sales of investments is, however,
insignificant at conventional levels. Also, the medians and means of total asset sales
(deflated by the market value of common equity) for both subsamples are around 1
percent, an indication that these sales do not represent unusual selling activities (e.g., a
major restructuring).
The debt-equity hypothesis implies that income from asset sales by higher-leverage
firms exceeds that for lower-leverage firms; this is consistent with the results reported
in table 4.