We address one of the cardinal puzzles of European corporate law: the lack of derivate shareholder suits. We explain this phenomenon on the basis of percentage limits which require shareholders to hold a minimum amount of shares in order to bring a lawsuit. We show that, under this legal regime,...

This paper contrasts UK and US governance of M&A break fees to see what the contrast can teach us about trade-offs between litigation and regulation as modes of governance, including how laws change under each regime over time. Data on 1,136 bids in 1989-2008 and 61 fee disputes show: (1) the UK...