Growth Opportunities Utilization: Debt Overhang or Asymmetric Information?

Abstract Inter-industry has various capital structures to take advantage of growth opportunities due to agency differences and information asymmetric problems. This research aims to analyze: (1) the differences in leverage between industries and (2) the impact of shareholders–debtholders conflict and information asymmetric on growth opportunities. The firm-level data used is extracted from Indonesia Stock Exchange's annual reports from 2008 to 2019. Authors used the analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings show differences in leverage between industries. However, they are relatively stable and not excessive for assets to prevent conflicts between managers and shareholders with debtholders. Equity is also not used to utilize growth to reduce the discretionary power (dilution) of shareholders. As a result, the use of opportunities and growth is limited. This study identifies agency problems and asymmetric information that determines independent companies' decisions in exploiting growth opportunities.