The first essay tests alternative theories about the effect of asset liquidity on capital structure and debt capacity. Using data from a broad sample of U.S. public companies, I find that leverage is positively related to asset liquidity. The relation is stronger following negative shocks to...

This study examines the performance of industry consolidating IPOs by using a sample of 58 firms that conducted a roll-up IPO over the 1994-1999 period and 55 build-up IPOs that went public between 1983 and 1999. Results indicate that the long-run stock price performance of roll-up IPOs...

This dissertation is comprised of two essays in which I investigate the idea that cross-subsidization of poorly-performing units within conglomerates is a cause for the value loss from diversification. In the first essay, I document a significant curvilinear relation between the value of...

I conduct an examination of the cross-sectional and time-series evidence on the decision to reduce dividends over the 40-year period of 1965-2004. As my core analysis, I empirically investigate whether the decision to cut dividends is caused by the exhaustion of corporate cash reserves and the...

How does a corporate board select their new CEO and directors? These questions are interesting to both practitioners and researchers. In my first essay, I develop a search-matching model which predicts that new CEOs who are better matches to the firms will stay longer, perform better, and...

Leverage-reducing exchange offers are consistently associated with a reduction in shareholder wealth. This study examines the motivations behind these exchange offers in light of their negative impact on shareholders' wealth by characterizing a sample of 151 firms conducting leverage-decreasing...

This study tests two mutually exclusive hypotheses regarding the relationship between firm size and the effectiveness of the market for corporate control. With a sample of 7,921 attempted acquisitions over the period from 1980-1999, this paper examines whether an acquirer's size impacts the...