Capital structure and information asymmetry: a study of brazilian publicly traded companies of textile and electricity industries

Abstract

Given the various theories of capital structure and the Pecking Order theory, the present study related the information asymmetry and the capital structure of companies aiming to verify if information asymmetry affects the definition of the capital structure of Brazilian companies held in the electric power industry and textile. The research involved a sample of 53 companies, 31 of the electricity and 22 textiles sector during the years 2008 to 2012. The methodology used was regression with panel data, it allows the same unit cross-sectional monitored over time. The results showed that information asymmetry is an important determinant of capital structure, but that the sectors diverge with respect to the Pecking Order Theory. In the case of the energy sector to reduce information asymmetry led to a propensity for debt, while the textile sector, the opposite occurred, as companies less susceptible to information asymmetry are averse to debt.