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In this thesis we analyze the financial performance of Football clubs following an initial public offering (IPO). We conduct several analyses using time series stock data with a focus on finding evidence of long-run underperformance and IPO over/underpricing. To this end, we estimate cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) and Jensen’s Alpha. We also analyze coefficients such as beta to describe the volatility and the link football clubs’ stocks have to the general market. We look at historical events that may have affected the movement of stock prices and confirm this by benchmarking an index (STOXX index) compiled of a number of European football teams. Our results show that football clubs do in fact follow the clear pattern of other entities and sectors and previous research with regard to underperformance in the long run. We find that football clubs’ stocks are less volatile than the general market and have a low beta. With regards to over/underpricing, we only obtain data for a few football clubs. We find small signs of underpricing but are not able to confirm that this is statistical significant due to the size of our sample.

This study investigates the effect of board networks on M&A transactions. I select 331 samples of M&A transactions among U.S. Fortunate 500 companies which are also U.S. public companies from 2002 to 2011. In addition, I use definition of board networks by Cai & Sevilir (2012) to identify whether there exist board networks in each sample. About research design, first I use event study methodology to estimates cumulative abnormal returns (CAR), and then examine the relationship between the board networks and M&A performance through regression analysis. Empirical analysis results are as follows:¡G 1. M&A announcement brings significantly negative abnormal returns to the U.S. Fortunate 500 companies. 2. The board networks will decrease the M&A performance for the U.S. Fortunate 500 companies. 3. The board networks are not efficient information channels for the U.S. Fortunate 500 companies.

This study investigates the determinants of divestitures, the impact of divestitures on shortterm firm value and the determinants of divestiture returns in South Africa. The study is based on a sample of 46 non-financial firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) between 2000 and 2014. Logit regressions found CEO Turnover, a measure of corporate focus and Return on Assets (ROA), a measure of corporate efficiency, to be the only statistically significant determinants of divestitures in South Africa. However, Sales growth, Return on Equity (ROE), Debt to Total Assets (D-t-A), Debt to Equity (D-t-E), the current ratio, and the interest coverage ratio did not possess statistical significance as determinants of divestitures in South Africa. The study also investigated the impact of divestitures on short-term shareholder wealth and found that divestitures have a statistically significant positive impact on short-term firm value in South Africa. Finally, the study also investigated the determinants of divestiture returns. Cross-sectional regressions conducted on the full sample of divesting firms found that leverage has a statistically significant effect on divestiture returns in South Africa; however, firm size and efficiency do not have a statistically significant effect on divestiture returns. In order to further understand the determinants of divestiture returns in South Africa the study also separated the portfolio of divesting firms into subsamples. The study found that larger firms report superior abnormal returns than smaller firms, firms with lower levels of efficiency report superior abnormal returns than firms with higher levels of efficiency, and highly-levered firms report superior abnormal returns than lower-levered firms in South Africa.

Yes / This paper examines stock market reaction to cross-border acquisition announcements that involve Eastern European emerging-market targets. Using a unique and a manually collected dataset, we identify 125 cross-border acquisitions in which developed-market firms from France, Germany, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom acquire ownership stakes in emerging as well as developed-markets in Europe during the period January 2000 through December 2011. In line with previous findings on foreign cross-border merger and acquisitions (M&As) in emerging- markets, evidence suggests that when the target firm is located in either the Czech- Republic, Hungary, Poland, or Russia, cumulative abnormal return (CAR) to the acquiring developed-market firm shows a statistically significant increase of 1.26% over a three day event window, following the announcement. Thereby, the relative size of the acquirer to the target appears to be the only significant factor that contributes to positive acquirer returns. The result is robust to the inclusion of controls for country, industry, as well as acquirer, target, and firm specific characteristics. Moreover, cross-border M&As involving an emerging-market target result in higher value creation for the acquiring shareholders than cross-border transactions into developed-markets.

We investigate whether multiple large shareholders (MLS) play an internal corporate governance role in mitigating agency problems between the controlling shareholder and minority shareholders in a cross-country sample of public firms. We draw our conclusion by examining the market reaction (in terms of bidder announcement period abnormal returns) to acquisition announcements made by firms with and without MLS in their ownership structure. Using an international sample of acquisition announcements made by firms with at least one large shareholder from 10 Western European and 5 East Asian countries between 1996 and 2000, we find the presence of MLS, their voting rights, relative voting power, the number of blockholders and the relative voting power of these blockholders have a positive and significant impact on bidder announcement period abnormal returns. We also find that the legal institutions such as disclosure requirement, investor protection, common-law legal origin and anti-self-dealing have positive effects on bidder announcement period abnormal returns.

We investigate whether multiple large shareholders (MLS) play an internal corporate governance role in mitigating agency problems between the controlling shareholder and minority shareholders in a cross-country sample of public firms. We draw our conclusion by examining the market reaction (in terms of bidder announcement period abnormal returns) to acquisition announcements made by firms with and without MLS in their ownership structure. Using an international sample of acquisition announcements made by firms with at least one large shareholder from 10 Western European and 5 East Asian countries between 1996 and 2000, we find the presence of MLS, their voting rights, relative voting power, the number of blockholders and the relative voting power of these blockholders have a positive and significant impact on bidder announcement period abnormal returns. We also find that the legal institutions such as disclosure requirement, investor protection, common-law legal origin and anti-self-dealing have positive effects on bidder announcement period abnormal returns.

A majority of previous studies reveal evidences of negative or no abnormal returns for the bidder/acquirer firm upon the announcement of a merger or acquisition (M&A). Additionally, these studies stress on the importance of ‘bid premium’ announced as a key factor influencing acquirer returns post M&A announcement. This paper aims to find validity for the above-mentioned statements in case of a ‘Pharmaceutical sector setting’ because not many previous studies have analyzed the role of bid premium influencing abnormal stock returns for the acquirer/bidder firm in M&A’s taking place in the pharmaceutical sector. We applied ‘event study methodology’ to study the abnormal returns’ and our results suggest positive returns to M&A announcements around the world for the period from 1997-2015. Furthermore, we carried out an OLS regression to observe the influence of ‘bid premium’ (announced at the time of M&A announcement), on the abnormal stock returns. We control for acquirer firm characteristics by adding them as control variables in the analysis. Our findings suggest that bid premium negatively affects the acquirer abnormal returns around the time of the M&A announcement.

The objective of this research is to test human capital theory via the earnings announcements through the returns within the for-profit education and training services industry. This theory posits that enrollment levels would rise during recessionary periods and this should be reflected in better earnings announcements of the education firms. Data was retrieved from the Compustat, CRSP, Thompson IBES, Google Finance, and Yahoo! Finance databases spanning the recessionary years of 2008 through 2010. The first hypothesis utilized a price index weighted by the education firms' market capitalization and the Russell 3000 Index as a proxy for the market to assess the daily returns of the education industry relative to the market. The second and third hypotheses involved assessing the quality of the earnings announcements within the education industry on a Friday vs. non-Friday report basis. The fourth hypothesis explored the actual EPS vs. forecasted EPS in consecutive quarters to test for differences in the earnings of that are better-than and those that are the same-or-worse than expected. The final hypothesis utilized the cumulative abnormal returns and cumulative excessive returns methodologies to compare the performance of the periods before and after the announcements. No support for the first four hypotheses was found. Consistent with expectations established by other research using CAR and CER methodologies, the fifth hypothesis was supported. Support for human capital theory was not found because four hypotheses were unsupported. This study was limited to U.S. education firms that were publicly traded on major U.S. exchanges. No private for-profit or non-profit firms were included in this study. Knowledge was gained by exploring the earnings announcements of the education industry for evidence of human capital theory. The absence of support for the theory within the industry during a recession could be an indicator of other issues affecting the industry that need to be researched further before any conclusions can be reached. This study extends the research in earnings announcements by examining the relationship the education industry has with the market. It also contributes to the work in human capital theory by testing the education industry's performance during recessionary years.

En efterfrågan efter mer informativa revisionsberättelser har över tid växt fram, vilketledde till att The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) år 2015introducerade ISA 701: “Communicating Key Audit Matters in the Independent Auditor’sReport”. ISA 701 är en ny standard som innebär att revisorer ska inkludera områden somde finner vara av särskild betydelse i företaget under revision i sin revisionsberättelse,vilket började gälla på finansiella rapporter för noterade bolag avseende perioder somslutade på, eller efter, 15:e december år 2016. Med införandet av dessa Key Audit Matters(KAM) är IAASB:s förhoppning att revisionens värde för användarna av de finansiellarapporterna ska öka genom att mer företagsspecifik information görs tillgänglig irevisionsberättelsen samtidigt som revisionsprocessen i sig blir mer transparant.Tidigare forskning kring KAM har visat på blandade resultat. Många experimentellastudier har pekat mot att KAM har viss effekt på investerarna och deras beslut, medan deflesta arkivstudierna som gjorts på KAM, eller utökade revisionsberättelser i andraformer, sällan har visat på några märkbara effekter av KAM. Vi vill bredda forskningentill den svenska aktiemarknaden och undersökte därför vilka effekter KAM hade påStockholmsbörsen.Utifrån tidigare forskning och teorier som effektiv marknadshypotes, agentteorin ochinformationsasymmetri formulerade vi tre hypoteser att testa. Den första kollar påförstagångseffekten av KAM år 2016 och ifall antalet KAM spelade någon roll. Den andrahypotesen handlar om ifall förändring i ett företags KAM leder till någon reaktion påmarknaden och den tredje hypotesen undersöker ifall det finns något samband mellanöveravkastning och vilken lista bolag är noterade på.I syftet att se hur investerarna påverkas av KAM utförde vi en händelsestudie för attundersöka marknadens reaktion på publiceringen av revisionsberättelsen. I linje medmånga liknande studier använde vi Cumulative Abnormal Returns (CAR) för att mätainvesterarnas reaktion i form av överavkastning under perioden runt omkringpubliceringen av årsredovisningen och revisionsberättelsen.Den här studiens resultat finner inget stöd för att det fanns någon förstagångseffekt avKAM år 2016 utifrån antalet KAM, men finner däremot svagt stöd för att antalet KAMhade effekt CAR år 2021. Vidare fann studien inget stöd för att en förändring i KAM hadenågon effekt och heller inte något stöd för att listan som ett företag är noterat på hadenågot samband med överavkastning.