We challenge a common presumption that poison pills and two Delaware case rulings in 1995 validating such pills materially entrench firms. Based on unsolicited takeover attempts from 1985 to 2009, we find that poison pills enhance takeover premiums, but do not reduce completion rates....

We report that the probability that executives exercise options early decreases with the volatility of the underlying stock return. We interpret this to mean that executives' subjective option value increases with volatility and that option grants increase executives' risk appetite. Further...

We find that firms substantially reduce their debt burden in ldquo;fresh-startrdquo; Chapter 11 reorganizations, yet they emerge with higher debt ratios than what is typical in their respective industries. While cross-sectional regressions reveal that post-reorganization debt ratios are more in...

Extant studies document that stock returns are abnormally negative before executive option grants and abnormally positive afterward. We find that this return pattern is much weaker since August 29, 2002, when the SEC requirement that option grants must be reported within two business days took...

Using a large sample of unsolicited takeover attempts, we examine the determinants and effects of targets' choice to adopt poison pills either before or after unsolicited offers, and to initiate defensive payouts. The probability of poison pill adoptions decreases with insider ownership, whereas...

Using a large sample of option granting firms, some of which were investigated for option grant backdating, we develop a predictive model for such investigations and examine how the capital market responded as the backdating scandal unfolded. Firms that were investigated experienced significant...

The Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, also known as the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), removed most of the remaining barriers between financial companies. Stock market reactions to the passage of GLBA vary across financial sectors and company size. Specifically, we find negative...

This study investigates the motivations for and the wealth effects of 150 fixed price and 110 Dutch auction self-tender offers from the period 1981 to 1994. Like earlier studies, I find significantly positive abnormal returns around the announcements of the self-tender offers. However, unlike...

We examine the effect of Chinese import penetration on the innovation activities of US manufacturers. We find that firms boost innovation in response to greater import penetration. The boost in innovation builds on narrow focus and familiar technology and results in greater product...

We examine the effect of Chinese import penetration on the innovation activities of US manufacturers. We find that firms boost innovation in anticipation of greater import penetration. The boost in innovation relies on familiar technology and results in greater product differentiation. However,...