We examine insider trading surrounding takeover rumors in a sample of 1,642 publicly traded U.S. firms. Using difference-in-differences regressions, we find that insider net purchases increase within the year prior to the first publication of a takeover rumor, particularly when rumor articles...

This study analyzes the effectiveness of the Market Abuse Directive (MAD) in reducing possible profits from insider trading during takeover bids. Exploiting the quasi-experimental setting provided by the introduction of the MAD, our event-study analysis on the Italian market suggests that the...

We provide evidence that managers and controlling shareholders time management buyouts (MBOs) and freezeout transactions to take advantage of industry-wide undervaluation. Portfolios of industry peers of MBO and freezeout targets show significant alphas of around 1% per month over the 12-month...

This paper analyzes the law and economics of insider trading in the context of takeover bids, focusing on the European regulatory framework. We distinguish between trading by the bidder, by the target and by classical insiders and first address the issue of precisely when information about...

Research argues that short sellers are informed investors as current short selling relates inversely with future returns. However, empirical results have yet to determine whether short sellers trade on private information before, say, an upcoming negative new. This paper takes a step in this...

We examine derivatives trading prior to takeover rumors in a sample of 1,638 publicly traded U.S. firms. The volume of options traded is abnormally high over the 5-day pre-rumor period, primarily due to the number of out-of-the-money call options traded. In addition, the direction of option...

Exploiting a unique setting of overlapping insiders between acquirers and targets in India, we examine how information asymmetry between the transacting parties influences the returns to acquiring firms’ shareholders as well as the method of payment. Using a novel dataset, we find that...

Share repurchase conveys information to investors and influences stock price in capital market. Normally when a company announces share buyback, the company's stock price will rise immediately. Thus, some insiders may take advantage of this pattern and create a fake repurchase event. When the...

We contribute to the M&A literature by characterizing the information available to insiders of selling firms during the pre-public takeover negotiations by analyzing insider trading during this period. We show that target insiders increase their net purchases only once bidders start signing...

This paper investigates the patterns of directors' trades and returns around takeover announcements. We find that the pre-announcement net value (the difference between buy value and sell value) of directors' trading is positively related to acquirers' announcement period abnormal returns. This...