1 Introduction -- 2 Literature Review and Methodological Concerns -- 3 The German Corporations Database (GCD) -- 4 Frequency, Causes, and Consequences of Control Transfers -- 5 Determinants of Acquisition and Failure -- 6 Corporate Governance, Market Discipline, and Productivity Growth -- 7...

This study investigates the determinants of changes in corporate ownership and firm failure, taking into account different types of sellers and buyers of control blocks. For a large panel of German corporations we find that firms are more likely to fail or to be sold when performance is poor,...