Corporate Diversification and Agency

By a well-known argument, securities holders do not directly benefit from risk-reducing corporate diversification when they can replicate this difersification on their own. Some have argued that corporate diversification may be of value, or can otherwise be explained by, the agency relationship between securities holders and managers. We argue that the value of diversification in an agency relationship derives not from its effects on risk, but rather from its effects on the principal's information about the agent's actions.