The Morning Ledger: Surge in Goodwill Write-Downs Lets Up

Write-downs from deals gone bad soared last year, but 2013 is turning out different. Suitors are paying the lowest premiums for target companies in nearly 20 years and stocks are trading near records, giving companies cover to avoid write-downs on the value of their assets, write CFOJ’s Emily Chasan and Maxwell Murphy in today’s Marketplace section. That’s a big change from last year, when U.S. companies slashed the value of their past acquisitions by $51 billion because the deals didn’t pan out as expected, according to a study set for release today.

Read Original Post from the Wall Street Journal