Between 2004 and 2008, $131 billion of stock was repurchased via accelerated share repurchases (ASRs), and in 2007, ASR announcements represented about 26% of the total number of repurchase program announcements. ASRs are credible commitments by firms to repurchase shares immediately. Including...

We investigate the magnitude, timing, and direction of the association between changes in concentration across vertically related industries over the period 1978-2008. We find robust evidence that changes in an industry’s level of concentration are significantly positively related to prior and...