This paper studies the ability of security-level contracts to substitute for poor country-level investor protections. Using a cross-country sample of restrictive covenants, we find that bond contacts are more likely to include covenants when creditor protection laws are weak. Further, the use of...

We examine motives to sell private firms and provide insights into the sources of value creation from acquisitions of private targets. Using a novel dataset, we document that less profitable, highly leveraged private firms that tend to underinvest are likely to be sold. Further, these firms...

We examine motives to sell private firms and provide insights into the sources of value creation from acquisitions of private targets. Using a novel dataset, we document that less profitable, highly leveraged private firms that tend to underinvest are likely to be sold. Further, these firms...

We compare investment policies across public and private firms in different institutional settings. Using a large cross-country dataset, we find that public listed firms are better positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities than private firms. Specifically, public listed firms exhibit...

We study the impact of Dead Hand Proxy Puts on shareholder value. Courts and commentators have characterized these terms as defenses against hedge fund activism that threaten to reduce firm value by entrenching underperforming managers and thereby increasing managerial agency costs. Our findings...

We examine a link between a bond ETF and the underlying bond market liquidity. Using daily creation and redemption data for the HYG ETF, we find that including a bond on the HYG ETF’s creation or redemption lists has a favorable impact on the bond’s liquidity. This impact is stronger on...