This study investigates the effect of monetary policy, focusing on repo rate and the expansion of QE programs, on Mergers and Acquisitions activity in publicly listed companies on the Swedish Stock Exchange. The study also investigates whether there are significant relationships between companies’ acquisition activity, their solvency or liquidity ratios. Additionally, the observed firms are categorized into industries to enable examination of differences between industries. The thesis aims at expanding the knowledge of determinant factors in explaining M&A activity on the Swedish market. To adequately determine the influencing factors on activity, 27 years of data was collected on acquiring Swedish firms from the Eikon database. In addition, data for the calculations of solvency and liquidity ratios were gathered from the same database. Data for the monetary policy variables were gathered from the Swedish Central Bank. A deductive quantitative method was used to analyze the various relationships between the studied variables. The study concluded significant correlation between monetary policy and M&A activity, company solvency and M&A activity as well as corporate liquidity and M&A activity. The correlation was negative in all cases except for quantitative easing which opens up for an interesting discussion. Observed industries gave a mixed result in terms of significant relationships but the result also indicate that pro-cyclical industries tend to be more affected by monetary policy than non-cyclicals. All of the above-mentioned relationships are further discussed from the perspective of various theories that both agree and disagree with the findings of this study. The authors believe that these results will give stakeholders a more in-depth knowledge and understanding of M&A activity and M&As in general. This study contributes knowledge to enable more sustainable business administration and management of companies.

This thesis explores if Scandinavian publicly listed firms’ financial leverage was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst theory suggests that financial leverage is positively affected by uncertainty and reduced profitability, previous empirical research finds weak evidence of listed firms reducing financial leverage during crises. We follow the work by Demirgüç-Kunt, Martinez Peria and Tressel (2020) and D’Amato (2020) and run fixed effect panel data regression analyses. Our results are in line with the previous empirical studies regarding the financial crisis as we do not find significant change in means in financial leverage between the pre-pandemic period and the pandemic for listed firms. For our complete sample, we find that the pandemic had no significant impact on total debt to total assets but a significant impact on long-term debt to total assets. However, the results are varying amongst the countries. Therefore, further research is advised. We also find that, increases in growth opportunities, and profitability affect financial leverage negatively, whilst asset structure and firm size have positive effects on financial leverage. The results for liquidity are mixed. Overall, the findings are in line with previous research.

Building new homes and oÿces are vital for the well-being in a country from both an economic sense and from a viewpoint that a growing population needs more housing. For construction companies to be able to meet their objectives, an important issue is the capital structure choice. The discussion of capital structure and company value became one of the most contentious areas in finance in the decades following the publication of the famous paper by Modigliani and Miller. Since then, there has been a lot of work exploring the optimal capital structure for firms in di˙erent situations, however the work has been rather limited in Sweden. This study tested the pecking order theory of capital structure on publicly traded Swedish construction firms between 1995 to 2019. The study had a focus on how well the pecking order theory can account for financial decisions made by Swedish construction firms through a series of tests. The purpose is to understand what factors are the most important, with regards to the capital structure, for listed firms in the Swedish construction industry. The result of the tests showed that the pecking order theory failed to outperform the conventional leverage model. Therefore, the study was unsuccessful in finding support for the hypothesis that the pecking order theory would be the dominant financial theory to explain capital structure decisions. / Att bygga nya bostäder och kontor är avgörande för välfärden i ett land ur både ekonomisk mening och ur en synvinkel att en växande befolkning behöver fler bostäder. För att byggföretag ska kunna nå sina mål är valet av kapitalstruktur en viktig fråga. Diskussionen om kapitalstruktur och företagsvärde blev ett av de mest debatterade områdena inom finansiell ekonomi under årtiondena efter den berömda publiceringen av Modigliani och Miller. Sedan dess har det gjorts mycket arbete med att utforska den optimala kapitalstrukturen för företag i olika situationer, däremot är forskningen något begränsat i Sverige. Denna studie testade pecking order teorin om kapitalstruktur hos börsnoterade svenska byggföretag mellan 1995 och 2019. Studien hade ett fokus på hur väl pecking order teorin kan förklara ekonomiska beslut som fattats av svenska byggföretag genom en serie av tester. Syftet är att förstå vilka faktorer som är de viktigaste med avseende på kapitalstrukturen för börsnoterade företag i den svenska byggbranschen. Resultatet av testerna visade att pecking order teorin inte överträ˙ade den konventionella modellen av finansiell hävstång. Därmed hittades inte stöd för hypotesen att pecking order teorin skulle vara den dominerande finansiella teorin för att förklara beslut av kapitalstruktur.

Background: SME constitutes to 99,9% of business in Sweden. A central aspect of running a business is to grow, Previous research shows that access to external funds is a limitation for SMEs ability to create growth and therefore capital structure can vary between companies.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the financial sources that are of greatest significance for SMEs with positive and negative growth. The purpose is also to investigate whether there are micro and macroeconomic factors that affect the growth of Swedish SMEs. Method: This study has been conducted using a quantitative approach and a random sample of 121 SME from all of Sweden’s stock markets. The research period lasted for 6 years, from 2017 to 2022. In operationalizing the variables, previous research was used, were as the dependent variable was growth in net sales. Multiple regression analysis has been conducted to see if any independent variables had any effect on the growth in net sales.  Results: The result from this study indicates that the percentage of debt and equity are almost the same for SME:s with positive and negative growth. Similar to previous studies this result indicates that the internal cashflow is not enough to finance growth. External finance is therefore crucial to create growth. The external finance with the biggest positive impact on SME:s with positive growth are equity and long-term debt. The external finance with the biggest positive impact on SME:s with negative growth is short-term debt. The conclusion from this study is that the internal cashflow has the biggest impact in determining whether the external finance have a positive or negative impact on net revenue.  This study also found that micro-economic factors affect SME:s. The present study found that younger SME:s has a higher growth rate. Size has a positive effect on SME:s. Out of the macro-economic factors that were used in the study, only business cycle had a significant effect on growth rate.  The result from this study found that pecking order theory is better to describe the capital structure of SME than trade off theory, but both theories are relevant in explaining SMEs options of financial sources. / Bakgrund: Små- och medelstora företag (SME) utgör 99,9% av företagen i Sverige. En central del för företag är att växa. Tidigare forskning visar att tillgången till externt kapital är en begränsande faktor för SMEs tillväxt. Det kan därför variera hur företag strukturerar sin finansiering. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilka finansieringskällor som är av störst betydelse för SME med positiv- och negativ tillväxt. Syftet är också att undersöka om det finns mikro- och makroekonomiska faktorer som påverkar tillväxten i svenska SME. Metod: Studien har genomförts med ett kvantitativt angreppssätt. Urvalet har skett slumpmässigt, där det slutgiltiga urvalet av populationen bestod av 121 SME från samtliga svenska börser. Undersökningsperioden sträcker sig över 6 år från 2017 till 2022. I operationaliseringen av variablerna har forskarna använt sig av tidigare forskning där den beroende variabeln är nettoomsättningstillväxt. Flertalet regressionsanalyser har genomförts för att kontrollera de oberoende variablernas påverkan på nettoomsättningstillväxt. Resultat: Resultatet från studien visar att andelen skulder och eget kapital för de båda undersökningsgrupperna är relativt lika. Likt tidigare studier indikerar resultatet på att det interna kassaflödet inte räcker för att finansiera tillväxt. Extern finansiering blir därför avgörande för att skapa tillväxt. För företag med positiv tillväxt är de externa finansieringskällorna med störst positiv betydelse eget kapital och långfristiga skulder. För företag med negativ tillväxt är kortfristiga skulder den externa finansieringskällan med störst positiv betydelse. Slutsatsen är att det interna kassaflödet är av störst betydelse för huruvida externa finansieringskällor har en positiv eller negativ påverkan på nettoomsättningstillväxt. Denna studie fann att mikroekonomiska faktorer påverkar SME. Den aktuella studien fann att yngre SME har högre tillväxt. Storleken påverkar tillväxten positivt. Av de makroekonomiska faktorerna som användes i studien är det enbart konjunktur som är signifikant. Resultatet från studien indikerar på att pecking order-teorin bättre kan tolka resultatet än trade off-teorin, men det går att argumentera för att båda teorierna är relevanta för att förklara SMEs finansieringskällor.

Titel: Sambandet mellan finansiell kris och bolags kapitalstruktur Författare: Nancy Nasrat och Valentina Daoud Bakgrund: Den finansiella krisen 2008 hade stor effekt på små och medelstora bolags kapitalstruktur och dess förändring inom den finansiella branschen. Orsaken till krisen var investeringsbanken Lehman Brothers kollaps. Under krisen var det egna kapitalet lågt bland finansiella bolag. Bolagen förlorade kapital och det egna kapitalet de hade var inte tillräckligt att täcka förlusterna. Detta bidrog till att bolagens externa kapital ökade och innebar att bolagens sårbarhet ökade i den finansiella branschen. Syfte: Beskriva och analysera om det finns ett samband mellan den finansiella krisen 2008 och kapitalstrukturen hos ett urval onoterade bolag. Metod: En kvantitativ metod tillämpades som innebär en mätning av variabler. Studien bygger på ett deduktivt tillvägagångsätt som analyserar kapitalstrukturen hos onoterade små och medelstora bolag inom bank-, finans- och försäkringsbranschen. Den analytiska metoden som användes var regressionsanalys. Analysen utfördes med hjälp av databaserna Retriever Business och SPSS. För att utföra regressionsanalysen valdes en beroende variabel och tre oberoende variabler. Den beroende variabeln som valdes var skuldsättningsgrad. De oberoende variablerna var soliditet, eget kapital och avkastning på total kapital. Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet visar att medelvärdet på skuldsättningsgraden var högre under den globala finansiella krisen än efter krisen. Skuldsättningsgraden minskade efter krisen vilket gjorde att de finansiella riskerna minskade, detta kunde ses som en positiv förändring. I förhållande till skuldsättningsgraden hade soliditet störst inflytande på kapitalstrukturen. I enlighet med regressionsanalysen hade soliditet störst varians gentemot skuldsättningsgraden i jämförelse med resterande studerade variabler. / Title: The relationship between a financial crisis and a company's capital structure. Author: Nancy Nasrat and Valentina Daoud Background: The financial crisis of 2008 had a major effect on the capital structure of small and medium-sized companies and its change within the financial industry. The cause of the crisis was the collapse of the investment bank Lehman Brothers. During the crisis, equity was low among financial companies. The companies lost capital and the equity they had was not enough to cover the losses. This contributed to the companies' external capital increasing and meant that the companies' vulnerability increased in the financial industry. Purpose: The aim of the study is to escribe and analyze whether there is a connection between the financial crisis of 2008 and the capital structure of a selection of unlisted companies. Method: A quantitative method was applied which involves a measurement of variables. The study is based on a deductive approach that analyzes the capital structure of unlisted small and medium-sized companies in the banking, finance, and insurance industries. The analytical method used was regression analysis. The analysis was performed using the databases Retriever Business and SPSS. To perform the regression analysis, one dependent variable and three independent variables were selected. The dependent variable chosen was debt-to-equity ratio. The independent variables were equity ratio, equity and return on total capital. Results and conclusion: The result shows that the average value of the leverage ratio was higher during the global financial crisis than after the crisis. The leverage ratio decreased after the crisis, which meant that the financial risks decreased, this could be seen as a positive change. In relation to the debt-to-equity ratio, the equity ratio had the greatest influence on the capital structure. In accordance with the regression analysis, solvency had the largest variance compared to the debt ratio in comparison with the remaining studied variables.

Syfte: Utvecklingen av skuldsatta företagsförvärv har genomgått betydande förändringar sedan fenomenet först introducerades på 1980-talet, både vad gäller den totala skuldnivån och val av skuldinstrument. Tidigare forskning erbjuder flera alternativa förklaringar till vad som påverkar skuldsättningen. Syftet med studien är därför att undersöka vilka faktorer som påverkar skuldsättningen vid högbelånade företagsförvärv i Sverige. Metod: Studien tillämpar en kvantitativ deduktiv ansats med utgångspunkt i den positivistiska forskningsfilosofin. Studiens insamlade data av sekundärdata inhämtat från Thomson Reuters datastream Refinitiv Eikon. 89 svenska bolag har blivit uppköpta med högbelåning av riskkapitalbolag bolag mellan 2000–2023. Studiens data har sedan analyserats med hjälp av statistikprogrammet SPSS, där univariat, bivariat och multivariata analyser genomförts.  Resultat och slutsats: Resultatet från uppsatsen visar att skuldsättningen i svenska högbelånade företagsförvärv kan förklaras med hjälp av den klassiska hackordningsteorin. Resultatet skiljer sig från forskning från USA och Europa som menar att marknadstajmingsteorin förklarar skuldsättningen bättre vid belånade företagsförvärv. Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien bidrar med kunskap till banker, riskkapitalbolag, företagsledare och investerare. För bankerna innebär arbetet en möjlighet att förbättra riskhanteringen och kreditbedömningen vid långivning. Riskkapitalbolagen kan genomföra bättre investeringsbeslut och skapa hållbara kapitalstrukturer.Förslag till fortsatt forskning: För framtida forskning hade det varit intressant att utvidga urvalet till att studera hela Norden. Det vore också spännande för framtida forskning inom skuldsättning och högbelånade företagsförvärv att göra detta med en kvalitativ ansats. / Aim: The development of leveraged buyouts has undergone significant changes since the phenomenon was first introduced in the 1980s, both in terms of the overall debt levels and the choices of debt instruments. Previous research provides several alternative explanations for what influences the indebtedness. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to examine which factors that influence the leverage in leveraged buyouts in Sweden.  Method: The study employs a quantitative deductive approach based on the positivist research philosophy. The collected data is derived from secondary sources, specifically Thomson Reuters Datastream Refinitiv Eikon. The sample consists of 89 Swedish companies that have been acquired through leverage buyouts by Swedish private equity firms between 2000 and 2023. The study's data has subsequently been analyzed using the statistical software SPSS, with univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses conducted. Results and conclusions: The findings of the thesis indicate that the leverage in Swedish leverage buyouts can be explained by employing the classical Pecking order theory. This result differs from research conducted in the United States and Europe, which suggests that market timing theory provides a better explanation for leverage in leverage buyouts. Contribution of the Thesis: The study contributes knowledge to banks, private equity firms, corporate leaders, and investors. For banks, the thesis presents an opportunity to enhance risk management and credit assessment in lending. Private equity firms can make better investment decisions and establish sustainable capital structures. Suggestions for future research: For future research, it would be interesting to expand the sample to encompass the entire Nordic region. It would also be exciting for future research in debt and leverage buyouts to adopt a qualitative approach

This thesis investigates the impact of capital structure on the profitability of 58 Savings Banks in Sweden from 2014 to 2020, focusing on the balance between debt and equity. Utilizing panel data regression, the study examines how debt-to-asset ratios and equity ratios affect key profitability metrics such as net interest margin, return on equity, and return on assets. Key findings indicate a negative correlation between debt ratios and both return on assets and equity, suggesting that higher debt levels may impede profitability. Conversely, apositive relationship is observed between equity ratios and return on assets, while return on equity decreases as equity ratios increase. The study also explores the influence of bank size, finding a negative relationship with profitability, which highlights the efficiency of smaller, more regionally-focused banks. Additionally, macroeconomic factors such as GDP growth show a positive correlation with profitability, whereas higher unemployment rates tend to reduce profitability. The study and the results provide valuable insights into the financial strategies that can enhance the performance of Savings Banks, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach to capital structuring within the context of prevailing economic conditions.

During the period of 2013-2022, there have been many interesting developments in the football industry in Europe. From accumulation of debt to disregarding the regulatory framework put in place by UEFA, football clubs have changed their capital structures to accommodate their financing needs. There has been previous research that has found a relationship between ownership structure and financial performance, but none that has explored how ownership structure affects debt and liquidity given current circumstances. The scope of this study was to ultimately determine how the capital structure and the liquidity is affected. This is a broad topic and the authors have covered several aspects within the field. However, there have been suggestions on further research regarding how one could go about valuating a football club as most of the football clubs in Europe have private ownership structures. In the end, the sample consists of 8,588 firm-year observations and adapts a longitudinal methodology. The tests carried out consist of OLS regressions as well as a multivariate regression. To be able to compare the different ownership structures, several regressions were made to put each ownership structure as the reference group. The authors of this thesis found that ownership affects debt and liquidity both individually and collectively. Therefore, answering the research question “What is the effect of ownership structure of football clubs in Europe on debt and liquidity?”. Football clubs in Europe have experienced low profitability, but rather high liquidity. The capital structures of said football clubs contain more debt than equity, where equity is negative in some cases. By comparing ownership structures, their effects on both debt and liquidity differentiate. This thesis contributes to already existing literature by contradicting Modigliani and Millers' assumption regarding bankruptcy costs. It also contributes practically to managers, investors, stakeholders, and regulators by providing context to different key financial metrics.

Denna studie syftar till att förbättra förståelsen av hur kapitalstrukturen påverkar tillväxten hos svenska företag som anammar cirkulär ekonomi. Genom en kvantitativ forskningsstrategi, som inkluderar både en korrelationsanalys och multipel linjär regressionsanalys, analyseras data från 449 företag inom sektorerna återvinning, återtillverkning och återanvändning som antagit cirkulära principer. Studien finner att intern finansiering, såsom kvarhållna vinster och eget kapital, har en stark och signifikant positiv inverkan på företagstillväxten, vilket stödjer The Pecking Order Theory. Resultatet visar även på att extern finansiering, i form av banklån och nyemissioner, bidrar positivt till tillväxt, särskilt inom dessa sektorer och som därmed stödjer Trade-off theory. Vidare analyserar studien hur företagsstorlek och ålder påverkar tillväxten. Resultaten indikerar att större och äldre företag tenderar att ha en stabilare tillväxt när de använder en balanserad kapitalstruktur. Studien identifierar även utmaningar och möjligheter kopplade till finansieringen av cirkulära företag, inklusive bristen på anpassade finansieringskällor. Genom att fylla existerande forskningsgap, bidrar studien till en förbättrad förståelse för hur företag kan hantera finansieringsutmaningar inom cirkulär ekonomi och därmed främja en hållbar ekonomiskt tillväxt. Därmed kan studiens resultat vägleda företag och offentliga organisationer i att optimera kapitalstrukturen för att främja hållbar tillväxt inom cirkulär ekonomi. Studien kommer även att förbättra förståelsen för både investerare och forskare.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-02-12T12:16:55Z No. of bitstreams: 1 diogosennacanongia.pdf: 2323385 bytes, checksum: a99ec9ad446059cd7c7ca2917bcf56d5 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-02-26T12:11:14Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 diogosennacanongia.pdf: 2323385 bytes, checksum: a99ec9ad446059cd7c7ca2917bcf56d5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-26T12:11:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 diogosennacanongia.pdf: 2323385 bytes, checksum: a99ec9ad446059cd7c7ca2917bcf56d5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-26 / FAPEMIG - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / A partir de Modigliani e Miller (1958) foi iniciada uma vasta discussão sobre a estrutura de capital das empresas. Entre as teorias que emergiram ao longo dos anos, destacase aquelas baseadas no equilíbrio (trade-off) entre benefícios e custos da dívida e a Pecking Order Theory, cuja criação é atribuída a Myers e Majluf (1984). Por outro lado, Almeida e Campelo (2010) apontam o fato de que as teorias até então abordadas negligenciavam o papel da restrição financeira na decisão dos gestores, afirmando que o comportamento das empresas financeiramente restritas poderia ser substancialmente distinto das demais. Shyam- Sunders e Myers (1999) mostram ainda que a maioria dos testes empíricos que confirmam, ora uma teoria, ora outra, carecem de poder estatístico, visto que uma teoria poderia mostrarse correta, ainda que as empresas se comportem de acordo com a teoria alternativa. Dessa forma, propõem um novo teste baseado em simulações para confrontá-las. A partir de uma base de dados com empresas brasileiras de capital aberto, entre 2000 e 2013, é proposto um teste amplo, que visa avaliar simultaneamente as principais proposições teóricas sobre trade-off. Num segundo momento, é proposto um novo teste para a Pecking Order Theory, que incorpora em sua forma funcional a questão da restrição financeira, levantada por Almeida e Campelo (2010). Posteriormente, objetiva-se confrontálas a luz do teste do poder estatístico proposto por Shyam-Sunders e Myers (1999). As teorias baseadas em trade-off apontam para a presença de custos de ajustamento, havendo ainda uma folga financeira de 7% para realocação de dívida em direção a um ponto ótimo, de acordo com suas características. A Pecking Order Theory com restrição financeira também é confirmada, de modo que as empresas que não sofrem restrição assumem dívida exatamente na proporção de seu déficit (incluído o investimento pretendido) enquanto nas demais empresas, sob restrição, o endividamento não se mostra correlacionado com o referido déficit. Por fim, entretanto, ambas as teorias falham para o teste do poder estatístico, mostrando-se “corretas” mesmo sob bases de dados simuladas pela teoria alternativa. Ademais, é proposto um teste para a determinação da estrutura da dívida per si, considerando a determinação simultânea entre o curto e o longo prazo, assim como a opção entre a dívida privada e a emissão pública de títulos. / Modigliani and Miller (1958) has initiated a wide discussion on the capital structure of companies. Among the theories that have emerged over the years, there are the theories base on equilibrium (trade-off) between debt costs and benefits. Also the Pecking Order Theory, which creation is attributed to Myers and Majluf (1984). According to Almeida and Campelo (2010) these theories have neglected the role of financial constraints on decision makers, concluding that the behavior of financially constrained firms could be substantially different from others. Yet, Shyam-Sunders and Myers (1999) demonstrate most empirical tests have, confirming this or that theory lack on statistic power, due to the fact that a theory coud be confirmed even if companies behave according to the alternative theory. The authors propose a new test, using simulations, to confront both theories. Using a data base of Brazilian publicly traded companies, between 2000 and 2013, an extensive test is proposed to simultaneously evaluate the main theoretical proposals about trade-off. Afterwards, a new test is proposed to the pecking order theory, with a formula that incorporates financial constraint, brought up by Almeida and Campelo (2010). Finally, both theories are confronted with the statistic power test proposed by Shyam-Sunders and Myers. Trade-off theories suggests adjustment costs and a financial slack of 7% for debt relocation towards optimal point, according to its characteristics. Pecking Order Theory with financial constraint is also confirmed and suggests that companies witch do not suffer from constraint undertake debt exactly in proportion of its deficit (including pretended investment) while in the other companies, under constraint, debt ratio is not correlated with deficit. Finnaly, both theories fail the statistic power test, because they are confirmed even when the database is simulated from the alternative theory. Moreover, another test is proposed, regarding the structure of de debt itself, considering the short term and long term debt are chosen simultaneously. Same logic applies for the simultaneous choice between private debt and issuing public debt.