We document market anticipation of merger bids and that less anticipated bids earn significantly higher announcement returns. Subsequent bidders experience significant and positive returns surrounding initial industry bid announcements. These results suggest that announcement period returns...

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) tend to entrench incumbent managers and enhance employee incentives, so the effect of an ESOP on the sponsoring firm is important. We examine long-term performance of ESOP firms and find significant improvement in their year-end performance. This finding...

We document market anticipation of merger bids and show that less anticipated bids earn significantly higher announcement returns. Subsequent bidders in the industry experience significant and positive abnormal returns around the time of initial industry bid announcements. These results suggest...