Research Question/Issue: We investigate outside director departures prior to management buyout offers (MBOs). In these transactions, managers have both an information advantage and incentives to make a lowball offer to shareholders. Outside directors can safeguard against managerial self-dealing...

This study examines the effect of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) on mergers and acquisitions using an innovative CFO Influence Index. We use the U.K. for our analysis because the perceived influence of CFOs is high. We find that more influential CFOs as measured by experience, stature, and pay...