Using new data for the universe of firms covered in Amadeus, we reconstruct the portfolios of shareholders who hold equity stakes in private and publicly-traded European firms. We find great heterogeneity in the degree of portfolio diversification across large shareholders. Exploiting this...

We use nearly 500 shifts in statutory corporate and personal income tax rates as natural experiments to assess the effect of corporate and personal taxes on capital structure. We find both corporate and personal income taxes to be significant determinants of capital structure. Based on ex-post...

We study the change in government control of privatized firms in OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries. At the end of 2000, after the largest privatization wave in history, governments retained control of 62.4% of privatized firms. In civil law countries,...

Evidence from firms in 47 countries shows that companies with political connections have higher leverage and higher market shares, but they underperform compared to non-connected companies on an accounting basis. Differences between connected and unconnected firms are more pronounced when...

We examine announcement period excess returns to acquirers of listed and unlisted targets in 17 Western European countries over the interval 1996 through 2001. Acquirers of listed targets earn an insignificant average excess return of -0.38%, while acquirers of unlisted targets earn a...

We examine announcement period abnormal returns to acquirers of listed and unlisted targets in 17 Western European countries over the interval 1996-2001. Acquirers of listed targets earn an insignificant average abnormal return of -0.38%, while acquirers of unlisted targets earn a significant...

An important and growing literature in finance points to existence of considerable benefits to being a controlling shareholder, especially when legal protection of minority shareholders is weak, and when separation of ownership from control is high. At the same time, the substantial and well...

Examination of firms in 47 countries shows a widespread overlap of controlling shareholders and top officers who are connected with national parliaments or governments, particularly in countries with higher levels of corruption, with barriers to foreign investment, and with more transparent...

We examine announcement period abnormal returns to acquirers of listed and unlisted targets in 17 Western European countries over the interval 1996-2001. Acquirers of listed targets earn an insignificant average abnormal return of -0.38%, while acquirers of unlisted targets earn a significant...

An important and growing literature in finance points to existence of considerable benefits to being a controlling shareholder. At the same time, the well established literature on mergers finds these key corporate events to be subject to agency costs. Relying on these two arguments, we employ a...