This paper describes and considers explanations for changes in corporate governance and merger activity in the United … States since 1980. Corporate governance in the 1980s was dominated by intense merger activity distinguished by the prevalence … of leveraged buyouts (LBOs) and hostility. After a brief decline in the early 1990s, substantial merger activity resumed …

We present a framework for determining the information that can be extracted from stock prices around takeover contests … relative synergies. The takeover contest for Paramount in 1994 illustrates one of these generic cases. We estimate that Viacom …

specific acquisitions, it illustrates the remarkable range of contingencies involved in any merger attempt. The authors clearly … establish each merger's presumed objectives and the potential costs and benefits of the acquisition, and place it within the … context of the broader industry. Striking conclusions that emerge from these case studies are that merger and acquisition …