Anatomia del diversification discount

The relation between corporate diversification and firm value has been the subject of an intensive empirical and theoretical research over the last four decades. Despite the evidence that, on average, diversification destroys value, a more recent body of work on the topic casts doubts either on the existence of a conglomerate discount or on it being the consequence of some inefficiency. This thesis reviews the literature on the link between diversification and firm value, with a special focus on the possible explanations for the diversification discount generally observed in the traditional financial research. The main objective of this study is to provide a clear and detailed picture of the main empirical and theoretical results on the diversification discount.