We examine the relations between recent board declassifications, takeover activity and takeover gains over the period 2003-2011. We report that firms that declassified their boards in the previous five years are more likely to be the target of a takeover than other firms. We also report that...

We examine the relations between recent board declassifications, takeover activity and takeover gains over the period 2003-2014. We report that firms that declassified their boards in the previous five years are more likely to be the target of a takeover compared to firms that remain classified....