We empirically analyze the rationale for adopting anti-takeover provisions (ATPs) by examining how ATPs affect corporate spin-offs. We find that firms protected by more ATPs before spin-offs have higher abnormal announcement returns and greater improvement in post-spin-off operating performance...

We analyze the relation between antitakeover provisions (ATPs) and the performance of spin-off firms. We find that firms protected by more ATPs before spin-offs have higher abnormal announcement returns and greater improvements in post-spin-off operating performance than firms with fewer ATPs....

We examine corporate payout policy in dual-class firms. The expropriation hypothesis predicts that dual-class firms pay out less to shareholders because entrenched managers want to maximize the value of assets under control and the associated private benefits. The pre-commitment hypothesis...

To what extent conflicts of interest affect the investment value of sell-side analyst research is an ongoing debate. We approach this issue from a new direction by investigating how asset-management divisions of investment banks use stock recommendations issued by their own analysts. Based on...

Nearly one in five hedge funds change their share restrictions (e.g., lockup) from 2007 to 2012. Using a large panel dataset, this paper is the first to empirically examine the incidence, determinants, and consequences of share restriction changes. We find that funds with high asset liquidity...

We examine the effects of anti-takeover provisions (ATPs) on corporate disclosure by testing the following two hypotheses: (1) The market pressure hypothesis, which predicts that firms with more ATPs will provide more information to the market and have higher earnings quality because ATPs help...

This paper documents that acquiring firms are more likely than non-acquiring firms to split their common stocks before making acquisition announcements, especially when the acquisition is financed by stock and when the deal is large. We investigate possible reasons for this pattern and find very...

We examine the role of financial analysts in forming institutional investors' investment decisions. We model how a fund manager invests in a stock based on reports produced by a biased sell-side analyst and an unbiased buy-side analyst. She weighs the two reports in her decision making, and puts...