This study examines changes in block ownership for a large sample of listed and non-listed German firms. The frequency of block trading is similar to other countries, and the vast majority of block trades leads to changes in ultimate ownership (control transfers). Such changes are more likely...

In recent years, the socially responsible investing (SRI) industry has become an important segment of international capital markets by incorporating ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) factors into investment selection and management processes. This study analyses whether SRI mutual funds...

After the end of communism enterprises in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) were marked by low levels of labor productivity, mainly because of too high employment levels. According to economic theory, the corporate capital structure can be an important element in the restructuring process. But...

This article documents a new value creation function of private equity investors who carry out buy-and-build strategies. Buy-and-build strategies constitute an initial acquisition of a firm, serving as a 'platform', by a private equity investor and follow-on private equity-backed acquisitions...

There is some controversy on the key sources of success in the private equity model and on how this business model affects the portfolio companies. We investigate financial distress risks of European companies around the buyout event in the period between 2000 and 2008. In addition, we analyze...

There are noticeable differences between the roles that various forms of credit financing play in family businesses and in other businesses. Family businesses take out more often bank loans specifically to finance investments and innovations, and they particularly often resort to the short-term...

We analyze the venture capitalist's decision on the timing of the IPO, the offer price and the fraction of shares he sells in the course of the IPO. A venture capitalist may decide to take a company public or to liquidate it after one or two financing periods. A longer venture capitalist's...

We present evidence on venture capitalists? (VCs) impact on turnover of executives for a sample of nearly 47,000 German high-tech start-ups between 1995 and 2004. We confirm that the presence of VCs increases the probability of a change in the initial executive team. Additionally, we take a...

In this paper, we analyze the investment and divestment patterns of different types of venture capitalists. Using a data set em- bracing all venture-backed IPOs that occurred on Germany's Neuer Markt we investigate whether the governance structures, objectives, abilities and track records of...

This paper sets out to analyze the influence of different types of venture capitalists on the performance of their portfolio firms around and after IPO. We investigate the hypothesis that different governance structures, objectives, and track records of different types of VCs have a significant...