Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California at Berkeley, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 225-233).

This dissertation is an empirical investigation of security excess returns associated with the announcement of corporate spinoffs. Spinoff excess returns exist, but the sources of these returns are not clear. Varying levels of disaggregated accounting information result from spinoffs. The purpose of this dissertation is to relate these information levels to spinoff excess returns. A sample of 79 voluntary spinoffs from 1980 to 1987 is categorized according to levels of disaggregated accounting information. Analyses of the security returns for the entire sample and for the subsamples formed by information levels are performed. Additionally, the importance of the size of the spinoff and the combined impact of spinoff size and information levels are investigated. Daily excess returns from the CRSP Excess Returns File are the source of the dependent variable measure. Although the market reaction to spinoffs has been studied previously I the reaction to spinoffs from 1980 to 1987 has not been studied in detail. The key findings and implications of the empirical investigation include: 1. Spinoff announcements do result in significant excess returns. This is a confirmation of similar findings from earlier investigations. 2. The size of the spinoff has a significant relationship to the announcement return. This is also a confirmation of results from earlier spinoff studies. 3. Levels of disaggregated accounting information are not significantly related to spinoff announcement returns. Another possible source of spinoff excess returns has been investigated. 4. Levels of disaggregated accounting information are related to the dispersion of spinoff announcement returns. The value of accounting information in a new setting is known. 5. Interaction between spinoff size and information levels is related to spinoff announcement returns. A qualification of the effect of size on spinoff excess returns is demonstrated. 6. Levels of disaggregated accounting information are related to spinoff postannouncement returns. This finding suggests postannouncement drift and a topic for further research. / Ph. D.

Corporate sell off activity has recently attracted considerable attention. The existence of excess returns for selling firm stockholders has been previously reported. This study attempts to identify the source of such gains by analyzing the impact of tax benefits involved in the sell off transaction. It is found that restrictions on transferability of the tax benefits reduce the realizable gains from sell offs. / Ph. D.

This study investigates the importance of reduced capital misallocation in explaining the gains in corporate spinoffs. The capital misallocation hypothesis asserts that the internal capital market of a diversified firm fails to meet the needs of the relatively low growth divisions for less investment and the needs of the relatively high growth divisions for more investment. Higher differences in growth opportunities imply that more capital is misallocated. This study finds that the higher the difference in growth opportunities of a diversified firm's businesses, the more likely the firm is to conduct a spinoff. This finding supports the argument that diversified firms conduct spinoffs to reduce capital misallocation. This study finds differences in managerial ownership of spinoff firms and of nonspinoff firms. This suggests that the misallocation of internal capital is an agency problem. A low management ownership stake, coupled with the existing differential in growth opportunities between parent and spunoff firms, leads to misallocation of internal capital, thus creating incentives for a spinoff. Spinoffs should result in a shift to the “right" investment policy and to better operating performance for both the parent and spunoff firms. This improvement in operating performance for the post-spinoff firms is expected to be higher when they are from highly different growth opportunity spinoffs. I find mixed evidence regarding market reaction, changes in investment policy, and changes in operating performance. The evidence that supports the capital misallocation hypothesis does not appear uniformly and consistently across the proxies for growth opportunities. However, there is evidence that both parent and spunoff firms benefit from a spinoff. The magnitude of the benefits is larger for spunoff firms than for parent firms. This is as expected because the capital misallocation problem may be reduced, but does not entirely disappear, in the parent firm.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Finance & Investment in the Faculty of Commerce Law and Management Wits Business School at the University of the Witwatersrand / The objective of this paper is to study the exit behaviour of private equity investments held by independent private equity firms in South Africa. As this is an exploratory study we examine empirical hypotheses previously tested by other authors. Firstly, we test whether portfolio companies within high technology sectors are more likely to achieve an initial public offering (IPO) exit relative to other exits. Secondly, we test the effect of the lending rate on the likelihood of a secondary sale. Lastly, we consider the relative preference of IPO compared to acquisition (M&A) and other exit modes. As South Africa is considered to be a bank-centered financial system (Levine, 2002), private equity investments within the market would be expected to experience poor IPO activity as suggested by the literature (Black and Gilson, 1998).The research is quantitative in nature and involves the use of statistical modelling, multinomial logistic regression was applied, using panel data, which assumes that the effect of explanatory variables on the choice of exit varies across observations (private equity firms) and over time. From the multinomial logit model it was found that; 1) High technology firms were more likely to be exited by means of M&A rather than IPO; 2) An increase in the lending rate was found to increase the likelihood of a Secondary sale which is contrary to previous research (Sousa, 2010); and 3) M&A was found to be the most likely mode of exit assuming all explanatory variables were at their mean, while IPO was the least likely mode of exit. / MT2017

Previous research on privatization has focused on its effect on output, profitability, investment, and efficiency at the level of the firm, neglecting the economic growth and other impacts. Nigeria's port privatization through concession in 2006 covered virtually all the ports in the economy. However, the few studies on the subject neither factored in the complexity that characterize the multiple port system nor controlled for alternative explanations of the changes in the economy. This correlational study tested the property rights theory by investigating whether the changes in production efficiency at the ports following privatization are good predictors of economic growth in Nigeria. Eight years of existing panel data were collected from Nigerian ports, providing 160 observations on several selected variables. The analyses controlled for the influence of confounding or interacting variables and addressed the complexity of the port system using linear programming. The multiple regression analysis showed that privatization, deregulation, cargo increases, interest rate, and inflation rate accounted for high variations in short and long-term economic growth. Port privatization transmitted growth to the economy through cargo throughput increases. The Malmquist linear programming analysis revealed overall but modest improvements in production efficiency changes after the privatization. By isolating possible areas of efficiency improvements, this study may inform port managers in Nigeria on ways to improve overall competitiveness. The potential contribution of the research to social change lies in clearly identifying the critical variables to economic growth in Nigeria to aid economic planning, poverty alleviation and improving the quality of life.

本研究之研究目的旨在探討國內上市公司進行撤資活動對其股價與未來營運績效所產生的影響。研究期間為民國八十年一月一日至八十六年十二月三十一日，經搜集相關資料後共取得57個符合條件的撤資樣本。本研究以撤資宣告日前31日至宣告日前120日為市場模式之估計期，而以撤資宣告日前300日至宣告日後30日為事件觀察期，採用事件研究法分析撤資賣方公司的撤資宣告效果。除此之外，本研究亦以五日累積異常報酬為依變數，而以公司規模、撤資規模、撤資損益、公司財務狀況、股票市場多空為自變數進行橫斷面複迴歸分析，試圖找出影響累積異常報酬的因素，最後並利用簡單迴歸模型進一步比較公司撤資前後之營運績效是否有顯著差異，經由實證分析後得到以下研究結論： 一、撤資宣告對公司股價的變動具有顯著正面的影響，股東在公司宣告撤資期間可享有超額報酬。 二、我國上市公司在宣告撤資時，其撤資相對處分損益對股價的撤資宣告效果具有顯著正面的影響；至於撤資交易的規模大小則對股價的撤資宣告效果沒有顯著的影響。 三、我國上市公司在宣告撤資時，其撤資後有無清償債務對於股價的撤資宣告效果會有不同的影響。 四、公司進行撤資對其未來的營運績效沒有顯著正面的影響。顯示公司在進行撤資後，其營運績效沒有獲得大幅地改善。 最後，本研究以研究結論，分別針對政府、企業界、投資者及後續研究者提出一些建議，期盼這些建議能夠對於其從事相關決策、學術研究時有所助益。

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

Doctorat en sciences sociales, politiques et économiques / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished