This paper examines board composition and CEO turnover when a public company is taken private by a private equity group in an LBO, using a new data set of all public to private transactions in the UK between 1998 and 2003. We find that when a company goes private, the board size is reduced and...

This paper proposes a new approach of inferring the value of voting rights attached to a stock by using options. This method might help solve the problems present in previous studies on the value of control such as endogeneity and data availability. The paper also has implications for option...

This paper examines the impact of staggered boards on the value of voting rights (i.e., voting premium) estimated using option prices. We find companies with staggered boards have higher voting premium. Exploiting plausibly exogenous court rulings, we confirm that weakening the effectiveness of...

The short-selling of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) creates “phantom” ETF shares, trading at ETF market prices, with cash flows rights but no associated voting rights. Unlike regular ETF shares backed by the underlying securities of the ETF and voted as directed by the sponsor, phantom ETF...

Short-selling and liquidity provision in Exchange-Traded Funds creates ETF shares with cash flows rights but no associated voting rights. These "phantom shares" trade at ETF market prices, but, because they are not backed by the underlying basket of securities held by the ETF sponsor's custodian...

This paper introduces a measure that captures the premium in bond prices that is due to the value of creditor control. We estimate the premium as the difference in the bond price and an equivalent synthetic bond without control rights that is constructed using CDS contracts. Empirically, we find...

We analyze an extensive proprietary database of corporate social responsibility engagements with U.S. public companies from 1999-2009. Engagements address environmental, social, and governance concerns. Successful (unsuccessful) engagements are followed by positive (zero) abnormal returns....

This paper proposes a new method using option prices to estimate the market value of the voting right associated with a stock. The method consists of synthesizing a non-voting share using put-call parity, and comparing its price to that of the underlying stock. Empirically, we find this measure...

We study the nature of and outcomes from coordinated engagements by a prominent international network of long-term shareholders cooperating to influence firms on environmental and social issues. A two-tier engagement strategy, combining lead investors with supporting investors, is effective in...

We examine the impact of earnings announcements on the value of shareholder voting rights (voting premium) estimated using a new technique that exploits option prices. We find the voting premium is negatively related to earnings surprises. This relation is primarily driven by unfavorable...