While in the US stock-based incentives are commonly used since the 50s of the last century, in Germany they were invented only some ten years ago. Even in 1996 firms faced considerable regulatory difficulties when willing to grant such incentives. In the meantime the legal environment has...

This paper investigates the strategy of private equity investors to take public companiesprivate in blockholder-based economies. Drawing on a unique dataset, we providestrong evidence that private equity investors buy companies in order to mitigatepotential agency problems and hence to improve...

In this study we analyze the evolution of ownership, control, and performance in German founding-family-owned firms over the last century. We begin by identifying German family-owned stock companies (Aktiengesellschaften) founded before World War I and still in existence in 2003 with sales...