No / We analyse the impact of ownership and corporate control on firms’ investment using the 2001survey of Yacoub et al. on Ukrainian firms. The model explains investment by output, financial and soft budget constraints, and corporate control (and ownership) categories potentially enjoying private benefits of control. We find that the corporate control model fits better than the ownership model,a negative relationship between state and employee control and firms’ investment, and evidence forthe presence of soft budget constraints. A negative relationship between firms’ investment and the relative size of non-monetary transactions strengthens the conclusion of private benefits of control impacting investment.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:23:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rafael Guarilha P de Freitas.pdf: 880892 bytes, checksum: 40e48c5886660a2ffbfb45835061694f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-10-06 / This work aims to analyze and explore the controversial and relevant aspects inserted in the context of the working control, giving special emphasis to the aspects related to the mandatory bid rule and to the responsibility of the controlling shareholder for the misuse of his control power. Therefore, we have analyzed (i) the origin and the economic justification of the pattern of dispersion of the company s capital stock, which permits the appearance of the working control; (ii) the dynamism of the corporate control; (iii) the main aspects associated to the definition of the working control; (iv) the mandatory bid for the changing of the corporate control; (v) the responsibility of the minority shareholders for the misuse of the corporate power / O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar e explorar os aspectos controversos e relevantes presentes num contexto de controle minoritário, sobretudo aqueles relacionados à oferta pública por alienação de controle e à responsabilidade do acionista controlador. Para tanto, analisamos (i) a origem e a justificativa econômica do modelo de dispersão acionaria, modelo esse que propicia o surgimento do controle minoritário; (ii) a dinâmica do poder de controle; (iii) os principais contornos relacionados à definição do controle minoritário; (iv) a oferta pública por alienação de controle; e (v) a responsabilidade do acionista controlador minoritário por abuso do poder de controle

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:23:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rodrigo Rocha Monteiro de Castro.pdf: 1990721 bytes, checksum: 627f892a402a098709fb3c53056fcf37 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-09-21 / This thesis provides a new approach to reorganizations by initially identifying reorganization as a category in which the following reorganizations are inserted (i) corporate; (ii) business; and (iii) associative. This distinction leads to the necessary comprehension that the legal framework applicable to each type of reorganization is different and that the person carrying the reorganization may choose from one of these types of reorganization to fulfil its own interests or to have personal gains without sharing them with the other shareholders (when such person is a controlling shareholder) or with any shareholder (when such person is a managerial controller). This scenario is stressed when the capital structure of companies change and mainly in public listed companies subject to minority corporate control or managerial business control. There are incentives for choosing one of these reorganizations types to prevent certain persons (all the shareholders or only the minority shareholders, as the case may be) from participating in the decision making process (corporate approval of the reorganization), from exercising rights that they are entitled when other types of reorganizations are chosen (such as a mandatory offer of acquisition of shares or right of withdrawal) and from benefiting the same conditions applicable to the person that chooses the type of the reorganization. Therefore, based in the different legal frameworks of reorganizations and conflicts that may exist between controlling/minority shareholders and partner/managerial controller, it is necessary to create mechanisms to protect the private investment / Esta tese oferece um novo tratamento às reorganizações, ao identificar, inicialmente, que a reorganização é gênero, de que são espécies as reorganizações (i) societárias, (ii) empresariais e (iii) associativas. Essa distinção leva ao necessário reconhecimento de que os regimes jurídicos aplicáveis, a cada espécie, são distintos, e podem ser modulados pelo protagonista da reorganização para satisfação de interesses próprios ou para obtenção de ganhos pessoais, sem compartilhá-los com os demais acionistas (no caso de protagonismo de controlador societário) ou com qualquer acionista (no caso de protagonismo de controlador gerencial). Esse estado de coisas se potencializa com a modificação da estrutura de capital das sociedades, sobretudo das companhias abertas, que se sujeitam a controle societário minoritário ou controle empresarial gerencial. Nesses ambientes, com efeito, surgem incentivos para modulação de reorganizações, de modo a privar determinados agentes (a totalidade dos acionistas ou apenas os acionistas minoritários, conforme o caso) de participar do ato deliberativo, de exercer direitos previstos em outras modalidades de reorganização (como OPA ou retirada) e de aproveitar condições negociadas pelo protagonista. Daí a necessidade de, partindo-se da premissa da existência de distintos regimes jurídicos de reorganização e de conflitos entre controlador/minoritário e sócio/controlador gerencial, criarem-se instrumentos para proteção do investimento privado

O trabalho tem por objeto a análise da disciplina jurídica, conforme fixada na Lei 6.404/1976, dos grupos de sociedades de subordinação, ou seja, aqueles pautados por relações hierarquizadas de controle societário, abrangendo tanto os grupos de fato (não formalizados por meio de convenção e regulados principalmente pelos artigos 245 e 246 da lei acionária) quanto os grupos de direito (sujeitos a convenção de grupo, estipulada consoante os artigos 265 e seguintes do referido diploma). A principal tese levantada, cuja verificação representa o objetivo central do estudo, é a de que o limitado uso dos grupos de direito na realidade brasileira se deve, sobretudo, à inefetividade da tutela judicial do conflito de interesses no âmbito dos grupos de fato. Como hipóteses de trabalho instrumentais a tal investigação, são analisadas questões como (i) a baixa difusão dos grupos de direito contraposta à ampla disseminação e à relevante função econômica dos grupos de fato na praxe empresarial brasileira, (ii) o alto nível de abuso do poder de controle (captura de benefícios privados do controle) na realidade do país e (iii) a inefetividade dos mecanismos judiciais de contraste ao abuso do poder de controle nas relações intersocietárias. A análise é amparada, principalmente, pelos métodos (i) histórico (investigação das origens da participação de sociedades no capital de outras sociedades), (ii) comparado (confronto pontual entre a disciplina brasileira e a de outros países, notadamente Alemanha, Itália e França) e (iii) dialético (confronto analítico de diferentes posições da doutrina). O estudo também toma por base dados empíricos extraídos de pesquisas de natureza econômica e de levantamentos oficiais, sem contudo empreender reelaboração estatística independente de tais informações. Os referidos dados trazem sólidos indícios que, argumenta-se, essencialmente confirmam as hipóteses de trabalho e a tese principal do estudo. Outros resultados e conclusões relevantes da pesquisa são: (i) a destacada função de fomento aos grupos e favorecimento da concentração econômica (Organisationsrecht) das normas brasileiras que tratam do fenômeno intersocietário, em contraposição ao objetivo de meramente proteger acionistas externos e credores (Schutzrecht); (ii) a rejeição da caracterização do grupo em si como uma sociedade de sociedades; (iii) a rejeição do conceito de interesse de grupo; (iv) a afirmação da natureza não apenas lícita, mas tipificada da organização da atividade empresarial na forma plurissocietária; (v) a obtenção de dados oficiais sobre a efetiva difusão dos grupos de direito, cujo número, apesar de baixo, excede as estimativas anteriores da doutrina; e (vi) a identificação da dificuldade de se comprovar em juízo o inadimplemento de deveres fiduciários de administradores e sociedades controladoras como elemento crítico por trás da inefetividade do sistema brasileiro de contraste ao abuso do poder de controle nas relações de grupo. / The scope of the research is to analyze the legal treatment, under Law 6,404/1976, of vertical groups of companies, i.e. those in which prevail hierarchical relations of corporate control. The analysis covers both de facto groups (that are not subject to a formal group agreement and are regulated mainly by articles 245 and 246 of Law 6,404/1976) and contractual groups (subject to a group agreement, executed in accordance with articles 265 et seq. of the same statute). The main thesis raised confirmation of which is the central purpose of the research is that the limited use of contractual groups in Brazil is, above all, the result of the ineffectiveness of judicial protection from conflicts of interest within de facto groups. As instrumental hypotheses supporting the analysis, the study comprises a review of issues such as: (i) the limited number of contractual groups, contrasting with the large diffusion and economic relevance of de facto groups within Brazilian businesses, (ii) the high level of abuse of corporate control (capture of private benefits of control) within the country and (iii) the ineffectiveness of judicial mechanisms aimed at contrasting abuse of corporate control in intercompany relations. The research is based mainly on the (i) historical (investigation of the origins of intercompany equity interests), (ii) comparative (comparison of Brazilian regulation of specific matters with that of other countries, mainly Germany, Italy and France) and (iii) dialectical (analytical opposition of different positions held by scholars) methods. The study is also based on factual data extracted from economical research and official assessments. However, such statistical information is not in any form independently processed. The collected data, it is argued, provides solid evidence confirming the main and supporting hypotheses of the study. Other material results and conclusions of the analysis are: (i) the significant function of promoting group formation and economic concentration (Organisationsrecht) of the Brazilian regulation of intercompany relation, as opposed to the purpose merely protecting external shareholders and creditors (Schutzrecht); (ii) the rejection of the qualification of groups themselves as companies formed by companies; (iii) the rejection of the concept of group interest; (iv) the defense of the lawful (but also expressly legally recognized) nature of the polycorporate business organization; (v) collection of official data on the effective use of contractual groups, which number is very limited but exceeds prior expectations of scholars; and (vi) identification of the difficulty to demonstrate in court the breach of fiduciary duties by managing officers and controlling companies as the critical cause of the lack of effectiveness of the Brazilian system of defense against abuse of corporate control in intercompany relations.

This doctoral thesis contains three empirical research papers that center on the topics of private equity and the role of advisors in mergers and acquisitions. "Your Former Employees Matter: Private Equity Firms and Their Financial Advisors” is a study of how social networks that are formed by previous employment relations affect private equity firms’choice of financial advisors. A financial advisor is more likely to advice on a transaction if a former employee is one of the private equity professionals who constitute the deal team for the particular transaction. In turn, information and deals are sourced to private equity firms from sell-side financial advisors within the previous employment network. "Dual Role Advisors and Conflicts of Interest” focuses on the potential conflicts of interest that may arise when an advisor to a firm targeted in a merger or acquisition is simultaneously involved in financing the bidder. Overall, the results suggest that investment banks in these situations may not have fulfilled their obligation of obtaining the highest possible price on behalf of the seller. "Private Equity Firms and Quick Flip Sales” examines the particulars of quick flip investments and three hypotheses that may explain their prevalence. Private equity firms typically are long term investors, but occasionally exits take place in less than 18 months. Results point to that such quick flips may partly be due to conflicting interests between the limited and general partners. / <p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2010. Sammanfattning jämte 3 uppsatser</p>

O trabalho tem por objeto a análise da disciplina jurídica, conforme fixada na Lei 6.404/1976, dos grupos de sociedades de subordinação, ou seja, aqueles pautados por relações hierarquizadas de controle societário, abrangendo tanto os grupos de fato (não formalizados por meio de convenção e regulados principalmente pelos artigos 245 e 246 da lei acionária) quanto os grupos de direito (sujeitos a convenção de grupo, estipulada consoante os artigos 265 e seguintes do referido diploma). A principal tese levantada, cuja verificação representa o objetivo central do estudo, é a de que o limitado uso dos grupos de direito na realidade brasileira se deve, sobretudo, à inefetividade da tutela judicial do conflito de interesses no âmbito dos grupos de fato. Como hipóteses de trabalho instrumentais a tal investigação, são analisadas questões como (i) a baixa difusão dos grupos de direito contraposta à ampla disseminação e à relevante função econômica dos grupos de fato na praxe empresarial brasileira, (ii) o alto nível de abuso do poder de controle (captura de benefícios privados do controle) na realidade do país e (iii) a inefetividade dos mecanismos judiciais de contraste ao abuso do poder de controle nas relações intersocietárias. A análise é amparada, principalmente, pelos métodos (i) histórico (investigação das origens da participação de sociedades no capital de outras sociedades), (ii) comparado (confronto pontual entre a disciplina brasileira e a de outros países, notadamente Alemanha, Itália e França) e (iii) dialético (confronto analítico de diferentes posições da doutrina). O estudo também toma por base dados empíricos extraídos de pesquisas de natureza econômica e de levantamentos oficiais, sem contudo empreender reelaboração estatística independente de tais informações. Os referidos dados trazem sólidos indícios que, argumenta-se, essencialmente confirmam as hipóteses de trabalho e a tese principal do estudo. Outros resultados e conclusões relevantes da pesquisa são: (i) a destacada função de fomento aos grupos e favorecimento da concentração econômica (Organisationsrecht) das normas brasileiras que tratam do fenômeno intersocietário, em contraposição ao objetivo de meramente proteger acionistas externos e credores (Schutzrecht); (ii) a rejeição da caracterização do grupo em si como uma sociedade de sociedades; (iii) a rejeição do conceito de interesse de grupo; (iv) a afirmação da natureza não apenas lícita, mas tipificada da organização da atividade empresarial na forma plurissocietária; (v) a obtenção de dados oficiais sobre a efetiva difusão dos grupos de direito, cujo número, apesar de baixo, excede as estimativas anteriores da doutrina; e (vi) a identificação da dificuldade de se comprovar em juízo o inadimplemento de deveres fiduciários de administradores e sociedades controladoras como elemento crítico por trás da inefetividade do sistema brasileiro de contraste ao abuso do poder de controle nas relações de grupo. / The scope of the research is to analyze the legal treatment, under Law 6,404/1976, of vertical groups of companies, i.e. those in which prevail hierarchical relations of corporate control. The analysis covers both de facto groups (that are not subject to a formal group agreement and are regulated mainly by articles 245 and 246 of Law 6,404/1976) and contractual groups (subject to a group agreement, executed in accordance with articles 265 et seq. of the same statute). The main thesis raised confirmation of which is the central purpose of the research is that the limited use of contractual groups in Brazil is, above all, the result of the ineffectiveness of judicial protection from conflicts of interest within de facto groups. As instrumental hypotheses supporting the analysis, the study comprises a review of issues such as: (i) the limited number of contractual groups, contrasting with the large diffusion and economic relevance of de facto groups within Brazilian businesses, (ii) the high level of abuse of corporate control (capture of private benefits of control) within the country and (iii) the ineffectiveness of judicial mechanisms aimed at contrasting abuse of corporate control in intercompany relations. The research is based mainly on the (i) historical (investigation of the origins of intercompany equity interests), (ii) comparative (comparison of Brazilian regulation of specific matters with that of other countries, mainly Germany, Italy and France) and (iii) dialectical (analytical opposition of different positions held by scholars) methods. The study is also based on factual data extracted from economical research and official assessments. However, such statistical information is not in any form independently processed. The collected data, it is argued, provides solid evidence confirming the main and supporting hypotheses of the study. Other material results and conclusions of the analysis are: (i) the significant function of promoting group formation and economic concentration (Organisationsrecht) of the Brazilian regulation of intercompany relation, as opposed to the purpose merely protecting external shareholders and creditors (Schutzrecht); (ii) the rejection of the qualification of groups themselves as companies formed by companies; (iii) the rejection of the concept of group interest; (iv) the defense of the lawful (but also expressly legally recognized) nature of the polycorporate business organization; (v) collection of official data on the effective use of contractual groups, which number is very limited but exceeds prior expectations of scholars; and (vi) identification of the difficulty to demonstrate in court the breach of fiduciary duties by managing officers and controlling companies as the critical cause of the lack of effectiveness of the Brazilian system of defense against abuse of corporate control in intercompany relations.

本研究針對我國1996年至2006年之上市櫃公司，以最終控制集團發生異動之公司作為經營權異動樣本，探討經營權異動之決定性因素，與異動後經營績效表現與公司治理機制間之關聯。 實證結果顯示，董監事持股比率愈低、最終控制者無超額持股、經營控制權與所有權偏離愈大、董監事持股質押比率愈高之公司，其經營權發生異動之可能性愈高。獨立董監事之設置雖與經營權異動之可能性呈正向相關，惟其關聯性未達顯著水準。經營權異動之公司，其財務績效在異動前後並無顯著差異，表示經營權異動之目的可能不在取代無效率之管理當局，也可能表示併購的綜效需要較長的時間才得以顯現。其中，董監事持股比率較高之公司，其經營績效在經營權異動後表現較佳。本研究顯示董監最低持股可發揮利益連結的效果，對於近期金管會擬取消董監最低持股規範之提案，本研究認為有作更深入討論之需要。 / Using companies listed on Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation and GreTai Securities Market over the period of 1996 to 2006, this study empirically investigates the determinants of change in corporate control and the subsequent period performance after the change. The change in corporate control is measured in terms of change in business group of a specific firm. The empirical results show that companies with less shareholdings owned by their board members, inadequate shareholdings to support their control, larger deviation in cash flow right from voting right, and higher ratio of shareholding pledged by their board members, have higher probabilities of occurrence of change in corporate control. However, the result doesn’t support that independent directors play a role in corporate control change. With respect to the firm performance in the period subsequent to the corporate control change, there exists no significant difference as compared to that of prior period. The evidence thus suggests that the replacing unqualified management may not be the primary purpose of corporate control change, or simply that the synergies take more time to show. In addition, this study also finds that firms subject to corporate control change tend to perform better if their board members hold a larger fraction of shares. This result lends itself to the proposal recently discussed by the Financial Supervisory Commission, Executive Yuan Taiwan on abolition of requirement of minimal shareholding by the board members. It appears that shareholdings by the board members can have interest-alignment effect.

"Mémoire présenté à la Faculté des études supérieures En vue de l'obtention du grade de Maîtrise en droit Option recherche (LL.M)" / La corporation est une institution à multiples facettes. Elle est d'abord un outil juridique au service de l'entreprise mais aussi une entité où se rencontrent les intérêts de nombreuses personnes. On nomme de façon générale stakeholders, ces personnes qui ont un intérêt dans la corporation. Plusieurs facteurs ont une influence sur les relations entre une corporation et ses stakeholders; le mode de gouvernance de l'entreprise, les attributs de la corporation ainsi que le contenu du droit corporatif applicable déterminent les échanges entre les stakeholders ct la corporation. Le modèle traditionnel de la corporation, quoique justifiable sur la base de l'efficience, peut être contesté de différentes façons. Pour évaluer la pertinemce de ce modèle, il faut l'analyser du point de vue économique pour chaque type de stakeholders. En isolant chacune des relations impliquant la corporation et l'une des catégories de stakeholders, nous sommes en mesure d'identifier les risques d'externalités et les solutions possibles. De plus, cette analyse permet de prévoir l'effet d'une intervention législative et de mieux comprendre la corporation dans sa dynamique économique. Cet exercice tend à démontrer que la position de chaque stakeholder est dépendante de nombreuses variables sur lesquelles les législations ont parfois peu d'effet. Le contrôle des corporations est essentiellement établi par un processus d'ajustement automatique des intérêts où chacun y trouve son compte. / The corporation is a multifaceted institution. It is first of all a legal tool available to the enterprise but also the junction of the interests of numerous persons. We call stakeholders the people who have interests in the corporation. Many factors play a role in the relation between the corporation and the stakeholders; the corporate governance, the attributes of the corporation as weil as the corporate law applicable will affect the relation between the corporation and the stakeholders. The conventional model of corporation is often criticized although it is arguably the most efficient model from an economic standpoint. To understand the critics and the raison d'ètre of this model, we need ta analyze it under economic terms from the different points of view of the stakeholders. Analyzing one by one the relations between the corporation and each type of stakeholders, we are able to identify the problems related to externalities and possible solutions. Furthermore, this analysis will allow us to foresce the potential effects of a new legislation and understand better the corporation in its economic context. As a result of this analysis, it seems to be that the situation of each stakeholder depends on many variables on which legislation has little impact. The ultimate control of corporations is tinally settled by an automatic process of adjustment where everyone satisfies its own interests.

Dentre os atuais desafios do direito societário brasileiro, a estrutura da propriedade acionária das sociedades por ações de capital aberto e a identificação daqueles que as comandam merecem destaque. O aquecimento das transações realizadas via mercado de capitais e a consolidação dos segmentos especiais de governança corporativa no Brasil resultaram no chamado fenômeno de dispersão acionária, que evidenciou certa ruptura na tradicional estrutura de propriedade acionária exclusivamente concentrada, até então predominante nas companhias brasileiras. Diante desse cenário contrastante, de mudanças no perfil do poder de controle sobre as companhias brasileiras, o presente trabalho apresentará em seu capítulo terceiro, após breve análise das estruturas de capital identificadas em diferentes economias e de retrospectiva sobre a propriedade acionária das companhias brasileiras (a serem apresentadas em seu segundo capítulo), extensa pesquisa empírica realizada com o propósito de identificar a atual estrutura de propriedade acionária predominante entre as companhias brasileiras listadas no segmento especial do Novo Mercado da BMF&BOVESPA (Novo Mercado), e com o objetivo de averiguar a existência do chamado controle societário minoritário entre tais companhias, conforme detalhado nos apêndices desta dissertação. Referida pesquisa empírica representa, ainda, rico processamento da base de dados e informações divulgadas à Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM) pelas companhias listadas no Novo Mercado, e serve de base para a avaliação da necessidade de eventuais mudanças nos conceitos adotados pelo Direito Societário pátrio, tendo em vista entendimento divergente identificado na doutrina e em julgados da CVM no âmbito da possibilidade de existência de um controle societário exercido por acionista ou grupo de acionistas não detentores da maioria do capital social votante, conforme detalhado no quarto capítulo deste estudo. Por fim, serão apresentadas, no quinto e último capítulo, as considerações finais à análise proposta, com destaque para as principais conclusões obtidas na elaboração dos capítulos terceiro e quarto descritos acima, dentre elas a existência do controle societário interno não majoritário (controle minoritário) entre companhias listadas no Novo Mercado, bem como os reflexos dessa constatação no âmbito da prática do Direito Societário. / Among the current challenges of the Brazilian Corporate Law, the structure of the capital ownership of the corporations and the identification of those who exercises control over it remains an important aspect to be taken into consideration when analyzing the main aspects of the Brazilian capital market. The heat up of the transactions carried out through the capital market, and the consolidation of the special corporate governance segments in Brazil resulted in the so called phenomenon of the dispersed ownership, which revealed a rupture from the traditional structure of extremely concentrated ownership, that was prevailing until now among the Brazilian corporations. Given such contrasting scenario of changes in the profile of corporate power over Brazilian corporations, these thesis, after describing, over its first two chapters, the structures of capital ownership existent in different economies and providing a retrospective on the capital ownership of Brazilian corporations, presents, in its third chapter, an extensive empirical research performed with the purposes of identifying the current structure of capital ownership prevailing among the Brazilian companies listed in the Novo Mercado, special segment of the Brazilian Exchange BMF&BOVESPA (the New Market), as well as ascertaining the existence of minority corporate control among such companies, as detailed in the appendixes hereto. The referred empirical research presents, furthermore, detailed data processing in connection with the information disclosed by such companies to the Brazilian Stock Exchange Commission, the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM), and is also used as basis for reviewing the need of eventual changes in the concepts embodied by the Brazilian Corporate Law, in view of the divergent understanding identified in the Brazilian doctrine and judgments issued by the CVM in connection with the existence of a corporate control exercised by a shareholder or group of shareholders owner of shareholding not representative of the majority of the voting capital stock, as detailed in the fourth chapter of these thesis. Finally, the fifth and last chapter of these study presents the final considerations in connection with the review proposed hereto, highlighting the main conclusions obtained through the elaboration of the third and fourth chapters described above, among them the existence of a not majority internal control (minority control) in companies listed in the New Market, as well as the effects of such conclusion in the light of the practice of corporate law.

Résumé L'examen archéologique et dendrochronologique des panneaux peints permet dappréhender les caractéristiques techniques relatives à la fabrication des supports de peinture. Puisque le corpus duvres couvre deux siècles de peinture dans les anciens Pays-Bas méridionaux, les analyses mettent en évidence les permanences ou les évolutions techniques de la mise en uvre du bois, et peuvent dès lors contribuer à une histoire matérielle de lart. Parallèlement, il est indispensable dintégrer la confection des supports dans un cadre plus large de production, en relation avec le contexte politique, économique et religieux de la région et de la période couvertes par notre étude. Le corpus duvres sur lequel repose cette thèse compte 143 peints datés entre 1450 et 1650. Quil sagisse de retables ou de panneaux de chevalet, tous ont été confectionnés et peints sur le territoire des Pays-Bas méridionaux, principalement dans des centres tels que Bruges, Bruxelles ou Louvain, aux XVe et XVIe siècles, ainsi quAnvers, aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles. La majeure partie des tableaux est issue du marché libre qui se développe dès la fin du XVe siècle dans les différents centres urbains ; quelques peintures de commande sy ajoutent. À lépoque qui nous occupe, le marché des panneaux peints est en pleine expansion. Au XVIe siècle, la demande en peintures de chevalet explose : posséder des tableaux fait partie des préoccupations de la bourgeoisie, même modeste. Au long de la période envisagée, le statut du panneau peint est ainsi passé de produit dexception (uvres de commande) à celui de produit usuel (panneaux de chevalet disponibles en grandes quantités sur le marché libre). Au XVIIe siècle, Anvers devient le fournisseur en peintures pour toutes les grandes villes dEurope. Au-delà dune meilleure compréhension ponctuelle de la chaîne opératoire de la fabrication des supports de peinture, des investigations dordre plus général ont été menées, pour replacer la réalisation du panneau destiné à être peint dans un contexte de production en pleine mutation. Laccroissement de la production de peintures sur bois dans les Pays-Bas méridionaux principalement au nord du pays soulève la question de lapprovisionnement en chêne, essence exclusive pour la confection des supports, dautant que la couverture forestière régionale est clairsemée et compte peu dindividus aux qualités requises pour la production de planches de panneaux. Ce constat conduit à sinterroger sur les sources qui ont permis de répondre à la demande en planches par les villes flamandes et brabançonnes. Dans ce contexte, il convenait également de prendre en considération les conséquences éventuelles sur lapprovisionnement en bois allochtone des bouleversements politiques et religieux qui secouèrent lEurope entière, à partir du troisième tiers du XVIe siècle et jusquaux traités de Westphalie au milieu du XVIIe siècle. Comme la période couverte par notre recherche (de la fin du moyen âge au début de lépoque moderne) est marquée par dimportantes évolutions techniques, il était intéressant de mesurer limpact que ces progrès ont pu avoir dans le domaine de la production des panneaux peints, et en particulier sur le débitage des planches nécessaires à leur confection. Dès lors, il était utile de sinterroger sur les conséquences de la scission survenue entre les Pays-Bas du Nord, grands spécialistes du sciage des planches, et ceux du Sud, qui dépendaient en grande partie de leurs voisins hollandais pour leur approvisionnement. Le développement considérable de la demande en peintures de chevalet a nécessairement conduit à une augmentation tout aussi importante de la demande en supports prêts à être peints. Des documents darchives attestent dailleurs que les artisans du bois ne parvenaient plus à honorer les innombrables demandes. Il était donc justifié de sinterroger sur les moyens quils ont mis en uvre pour améliorer leur productivité et leur rentabilité. À côté de ces constatations dordre contextuel, et plus concrètement, le matériel détude a nécessité le développement dune méthodologie propre à lexamen dendrochronologique des panneaux peints. Les résultats enregistrés et discutés tout au long de ce travail ont permis déclairer les apports et les limites de lapplication de cette discipline à des objets tels que les supports de peinture. Ils ont également mené à la constitution dun nouveau référentiel dendrochronologique adapté à la datation de peintures sur bois des anciens Pays-Bas. Abstract Archaeological and dendrochronological analyses of panel paintings yield results with respect to the technical characteristics related to the fabrication of the painting supports. Since the corpus of works studied covered two centuries of painting in the southern part of the ancient Low Countries, such analyses demonstrate persistence or technical development in woodworking, and thus contribute to the material history of art. Similarly, it is indispensable to integrate the production of supports within the broader framework of production, in relation to the political, economic and religious context of the region during the period covered by this study. The corpus of works on which this thesis is based comprises 143 panel paintings dated between 1450 and 1650. Whether altarpieces or easel paintings, all were created and painted in the southern Low Countries, principally in centres such as Bruges, Brussels and Leuven, during the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as in Antwerp, during the 16th and 17th centuries. The majority of the paintings are the result of the open market which developed at the end of the 15th century in different urban centres; several paintings made on order have also been studied. During the period of interest, the market for panel painting was in full expansion. In the 16th century, the demand for easel painting exploded: to own paintings was one of the interests of the bourgeoisie, even if modest. During this period, the status of the panel painting thus changed from being a rare commodity (works by order) to widespread (easel paintings available in large quantities on the open market). In the 17th century, Antwerp became the source of paintings for all of the large cities in Europe. Beyond a better, but episodic, understanding of the production sequence to prepare painting supports, investigation at a broader scale has also been carried out in order to place the production of panels destined to be painted within the context of production in full transformation. The rise in the production of paintings on wood in the southern Low Countries mainly in the northern part of the country raises the questions of procurement of oak, the exclusive material for supports, since the regional forest cover was sparse and had few trees with the qualities required for the production of panel planks. This observation led to investigation of the sources of wood responding to the demand for planks by Flemish and Brabant towns. In this context, it was also appropriate to consider the possible consequences of political and religious upheavals on non-local wood procurement from the last third of the 16th century to the Westphalia treaties in the middle of the 17th century. As the period examined in this research (end of the Middle Ages to the beginning of the Modern Era) is marked by significant technological developments, the impact of this progress in the area of panel painting production, and in particular on the cutting techniques of planks needed for their supports, was addressed. As a result, it was useful to examine the consequence of the scission between the northern Low Countries, specialists in sawing planks, and the southern part, which depended in large part on their Dutch neighbours for procurement. The considerable development in the demand for easel paintings necessarily led to an equally important increase in the demand for supports ready to be painted. Archival documents also show that wood artisans were no longer able to meet the innumerable requests. It was thus relevant to investigate the means they employed to improve their productivity and profitability. Next to these contextual observations, and more concretely, the material studied required the development of a methodology specific to the dendrochronological analysis of panel paintings. The results recorded and discussed throughout this thesis allow clarification of the contribution and limits of the application of this discipline to objects such as painting supports. They have also led to the construction of a new dendrochronological frame of reference adapted to the dating of paintings on wood in the ancient Low Countries.