This paper describes and considers explanations for changes in corporate governance and merger activity in the United … States since 1980. Corporate governance in the 1980s was dominated by intense merger activity distinguished by the prevalence … of leveraged buyouts (LBOs) and hostility. After a brief decline in the early 1990s, substantial merger activity resumed …

change: internally precipitated management turnover, hostile takeover, and friendly takeover. We find that firms experiencing … is also weaker evidence that hostile takeover targets underperform their industry peers. We interpret this evidence as … relative to industry, but that an external challenge in the form of a hostile takeover is often required when the whole …