In practice, open-market stock repurchase programs outnumber self tender offers by approximately ten to one. This evidence is puzzling given that tender offers are more efficient in disbursing free cash and in signaling undervaluation - the two main motivations suggested in the literature for...

We show that the characteristics of serial acquirers are very different from those studied in prior research. Specifically, we find four major types of acquirers common in the data – loners, occasional acquirers, sprinters, and marathoners. Importantly, these acquirers can be distinguished on...

Using a total sample of 1,850 acquisitions from 2007 to 2013 in the EU12, I examine the impact acquisitions have on cash ratios of acquiring firms directly after an acquisition and after one year. This paper shows that cash ratios significantly decline by 1.7% right after an acquisition....

Powerpoint presentation given at the Stanford-Yale Junior Faculty Forum in Summer 2011. Full paper available on SSRN at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1884171.We construct a novel dataset of detailed monthly data on U.S. open market stock repurchases (OMRs) that became available following stricter SEC...

Billett and Xue (2007) document that the ex ante (pre-repurchase) takeover probability has a positive and significant impact on share repurchases, but there is no evidence that share repurchases are indeed associated with fewer ex post takeover bids. We examine whether share buyback deters...

Analysis of the causes of failure has often been shallow. This paper proposes an explanation as to why some mergers fail to achieve, based on the comparison between merging firms' specifics. We argue that cancellation may stem from dividend policy dissimilarity between the acquirer and the...

Various studies have analyzed the main determinants of payment method in M&As since the 1980s. We examine how relative the existing dividend policy of the acquirer affects the choice of the payment method. Based on the contingent-pricing effect of stock offer, we hypothesize that the likelihood...

Various studies have analyzed the main determinants of payment method in M&As since the 1980s. We survey 2,260 US acquisitions to determine how relative the existing dividend policy of the acquirer affects the choice of the payment method. Based on the contingent-pricing effect of stock offer,...

This paper analyses the impact of the EU market abuse law on share repurchases. We find that the Member States' previous rules differed considerably, and therefore it can be said that the Regulation on share repurchases has provided uniformity as to the availability of a safe harbor for share...

We argue that the state-law rules governing poison pills are vulnerable to challenges based on preemption by the Williams Act. Such challenges, we show, could well have a major impact on the corporate-law landscape.The Williams Act established a federal regime regulating unsolicited tender...