We study the role of private equity firms in cross-border mergers and acquisitions. We find that private equity-owned firms are more likely to become targets in crossborderM&A transactions. This effect is particularly strong in transactions where the target or its shareholders actively reach out...

We study the role of private equity firms in cross-border mergers and acquisitions. We find that private equity-owned firms are more likely to become targets in crossborderM&A transactions. This effect is particularly strong in transactions where the target or its shareholders actively reach out...

We examine the effectiveness of government direct funding of firm innovation through R&D grants on firms future R&D investment, employment, and performance. Using a novel proprietary dataset of 1,825 R&D grants awarded to Irish domiciled firms for the period 2003-2012, we first show that grant...

We examine the economic benefits of acquisitions of U.S. public firms. Estimating revelation biases concerning internal investment opportunities, we find that it produces a significant negative bidder announcement effect, often interpreted as shareholder wealth destruction. Examining exogenously...

We show that minority acquisitions are more common for targets in countries with worse information environments. The effect is stronger for diversifying acquisitions, deals for high-tech targets, and when the bidder has prior acquisition experience. Minority acquisitions can also be a...

This paper examines the role of firm-level experience in the context of divestitures. We find that divesting firms that have recent divestiture experience (hereafter, experienced divestors) are more likely to sell peripheral or underperforming units, and to divest during industry merger waves....

Prior evidence on pre-bankruptcy filing informed trading is mixed. The inconclusive findings might result from the sole focus on stock trading. We reassess the presence of pre-filing informed and insider trades by examining the information content of options trading before bankruptcy...

Companies are sometimes accused of misleading the market. The SEC can punish this with enforcement actions. Alternatively, shareholders can seek redress through a shareholder class action (SCA). Thus, using a sample of 416 securities class actions, this paper shows that SCAs are a catalyst to...

This paper examines why large PE funds earn lower returns. I argue that large PE-funds are suited to making large investments and small PE-funds are suited to nurturing start-ups. Thus, the sub-optimal investment in small companies is one driver of the size effect in private equity. A...

The market for corporate control is generally regarded as an important disciplinary mechanism in well developed economies. Entrenchment mechanisms commonly used by US firms in the form of anti-takeover provisions (ATPs) may offer some protection from disciplinary action, facilitating...