Material-Adverse-Change clauses (MACs) are present in over 90% of acquisition agreements. These clauses are the outcome of extensive negotiation and exhibit substantial cross-sectional variation in the number and types of events that are excluded from being ‘material adverse events’ (MAEs)....

Firms that intentionally increase leverage through substantial debt issuances do so primarily as a response to operating needs rather than a desire to make a large equity payout. Subsequent debt reductions are neither rapid, nor the result of pro-active attempts to rebalance the firm’s capital...

We analyze target firm valuations disclosed in the fairness opinions of negotiated mergers between 1998 and 2005. On average, acquirer advisors exhibit a greater degree of valuation optimism than do target advisors. Top-tier advisors produce more accurate valuations than lower-tier advisors, but...

I provide an overview of the topics covered in this Special Issue of the Journal of Corporate Finance on "Financial Flexibility and Corporate Liquidity." This burgeoning literature encompasses studies of the determinants and consequences of corporate cash holdings, as well as the impact of...

Using a large sample of private debt renegotiations from 1996 to 2011, we report that, even in the absence of any covenant violation, debt covenants are frequently renegotiated. These renegotiations primarily relax existing restrictions and result in economically large changes in existing...