This report details a study of capital structure for JSE listed companies. The study considered historical financial information for JSE listed companies over the period 1987 to 2009 and asked two central questions, with the benefit of hindsight. Firstly, could JSE listed companies have used more debt to finance their operations during this period? Secondly, how much additional debt could these companies have used and thereby increase shareholder value? An optimal debt ratio maximises shareholder value by optimising tax benefits of debt. This study analysed data for 97 companies that were within the top 160 JSE listed companies. For each year of data, debt was increased while maintaining certain pre-selected debt service ratios, to determine how much additional debt these companies could have had. These ratios were interest coverage, cash coverage and DSCR. The results indicate that in most sectors of the JSE companies could have used significantly more debt to finance their operations over the past 22 years. By so doing these companies would have increased shareholder value over the years. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This thesis explores institutions under which venture capital investment operates in China and whether and how these institutions affect venture capitalists’ (VCs) investment preferences, ex-ante project screening strategies, and ex-post monitoring activities in China. Based on an analysis of about 50 unstructured and semi-structured interviews and an examination of more than 800 venture capital backed deals, this study finds that regulations on corporate governance impact VCs’ investment activities in China. Due to regulatory restrictions, most foreign venture capital firms are structured under limited partnerships, whereas all domestic venture capital firms (VCFs) are structured as limited companies in China. The difference in corporate governance of VCFs heavily affects VCs’ investment strategies in China. VCFs under limited partnerships show more risktaking capability than those structured as limited companies by investing more in younger projects with higher R&D intensity. Associated with the difference in investment preferences, VCFs under limited partnerships employ stage financing more frequently than those structured as limited companies do. At the same time, the stage financing strategies deployed by VCFs under limited partnerships are closely related to agency problems and transaction uncertainties. The more serious agency problems are the more intensive stage financing will be. However, VCFs structured as limited companies rarely employ stage financing and there is no visible pattern shown in their stage financing arrangements. Finally, similar to the practices in developed countries, VCs in China also take human capital factors as the utmost important criteria. However, they are more demanding in project screening by imposing additional criteria. Further, VCFs under limited partnerships are more demanding and more sensitive to market growth rate and financial returns, and more concerned about public policies. These results may be explained by the weak regulatory institutions in China and the incentives provided by different governance structures. VCFs structured as limited companies are organized hierarchically. Their incentive structure is designed to discourage risk taking and responsibilities. VCFs under limited partnership are more independent in governance that their incentive structures are designed to encourage risk taking and responsibilities.

Commercial listed property is a complex, yet potentially lucrative asset class to invest in. South Africa’s property index delivered average returns of 34% for 2006/7 and was rated best performer internationally. While many of the funds in the sector as still forecasting excellent yields, some are struggling to survive in the current, difficult economic environment. The main objective of this study was to enter the realm of the property fund manager in order to gain a better understanding of the underlying assets, the macro-economic challenges, portfolio risks and investment valuation criteria. A qualitative research study was done with decision makers within the listed property environment using investment case studies covering the retail, office, industrial and hotel sectors. The results of the research were developed into a framework providing insight into the investment valuation process and portfolio strategies employed by some of the leading funds and which can be used as a decision-model for potential investors. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

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The aim of this thesis is to analyze crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter, and contribute towards increasing the effectiveness of such campaigns, as most campaigns are unsuccessful. The theoretical part will focus on defining crowdfunding as the new phenomena of capital distribution and compared with other forms of financing new ideas. The empirical part focuses on a paired comparison analysis of campaigns from two various locations and three industries in total. Factores affecting the successfulness are analyzed and a pattern which would help towards solving the initial problem is looked for. The aim of the thesis was fulfilled by giving recommendations which have an impact on the success rate.

The objective of this research is to investigate the role of geography in the venture capital investment in the US biotechnology industry. Data include 4,409 quarterly investment deals from the MoneyTree Survey during 1995 and 2008. Strong spatial concentration patterns are identified. Using both ordinary squares regressions and geographically weighted regressions, we find that as the geographic distance between biotechnology firms and their investors decreases, deal size increases. Location in established biotechnology clusters, such as New England and California, helps to bring a larger deal into individual firms as well. Also, the impact of distance decay in these two clusters is more significant than that in other regions. In addition, we find that a global venture capital investing syndication network brings large deals. Furthermore, firms in later stages of development, and/or with few financing rounds, tend to receive more capital per deal.

The National Health Service (NHS) is recognised as the largest public sector institution in Europe. This presents significant challenges in regards to operation and maintenance of the diverse built estate, and the ever-evolving clinical models of care. The economic downturn, and strict policy of austerity in the UK, presents limitations and challenges in capital investment. The majority of healthcare facilities which will be used throughout the 21st century, have already been built. This demands that solutions be found in the areas of asset maintenance and refurbishment. These challenges are complicated further, by the institutional and statutory requirements of the NHS to meet demanding sustainability targets. This in turn, is underpinned by exacting assessment methodologies and rating systems, and critically, an institutional ‘duty’ to pursue and evidence that ‘Value for Money’ has been achieved as far as reasonably practicable. The existing estate management tools were assessed by a process of triangulation, and the relevant decisionmakers and stakeholders from both the NHS and the Design Teams and Constructors were identified. The original contribution demonstrates the development of a novel decision support prototype which facilitates and improves the current decision making process. The prototype allows the integrated team to consider, evaluate, and agree, best-fit options in a measured, recordable, and replicable manner. Key to this process, is the ability to compare and rank often competing criteria, and to test the nonfinancial, and financial preferences by means of sensitivity analysis techniques. The research and the developed working prototype, were then tested and validated against an expert panel, on a broad scope of issues, ranging from Graphical User Interface aesthetics and usability, to functionality and applicability to the current standard business case process. The results of the testing and validation excercises were overwhelmingly positive.

This dissertation consists of two essays on corporate finance. Essay one examines whether corporate governance affects firm performance after capital investments. I find that among firms with weak corporate governance, those with high abnormal capital investments have significantly lower stock performance than those with low abnormal capital investments. In addition, a significant portion of the difference in abnormal stock performance between the two subgroups occurs around earnings announcements. In contrast, the level of abnormal capital investments is not related to subsequent stock performance or earnings announcement returns at firms with strong corporate governance. These findings indicate that corporate governance structure enhances firm value by mitigating the over-investment problem. Essay two examines how insider trading activity prior to seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) is related to subsequent investment, operating, and financing decisions of the issuer. I find that SEO firms with more abnormal insider sales issue more seasoned equity, hold more cash and increase dividend payouts more. They also perform more poorly. Following the SEO, these firms also issue less equity and the effects of the SEO on their capital structures gradually reverses. These findings suggest that SEO firms with more abnormal insider sales are more likely to have overpriced stock, while those with less abnormal insider sales are more likely to have good investment opportunities. Insider trading activity prior to the SEO provides valuable information about the firm’s incentives to issue seasoned equity and help to predict the real activities of the issuer following the SEO. / text

This thesis explores the role of corporate venture capital (CVC) investment in business growth strategy. It is particularly concerned with identifying the CVC investment options for business development and growth. Business growth strategy involves choices of products (and services) or markets for an organisation to enter or exit. An organisation has a choice between penetrating its existing markets, developing new products for its existing markets, bringing its existing products into new markets, or diversifying its activities by introducing new products into new markets. A framework linking CVC investment with business growth strategy is developed and is used for identifying the relevant contribution which the different CVC investments make to business growth. Firms interested in diversifying their investment portfolio utilise CVC for this purpose. These investments, however, support organisational growth when they are aligned to business strategy, defined by the goal of increasing demand for existing products (or services), bringing new products to existing markets faster, protecting against a competitive threat which involves offering existing products to new markets, and developing new products in new markets. There are instances where CVC investments can be used as a channel for later stage funding of corporate venturing projects. This thesis highlights the fact that contrary to both popular wisdom and academic arguments, CVC funds can still be successful when they function like independent venture capital funds, with reliance on financial return on investment as critical to their success. They are, however, able to endure by executing this practice in line with the corporation’s business growth strategy. Using archival data collected from three case studies over a 34-year period, the framework developed from literature review is applied as a basis for understanding how CVC investment can be linked to business growth strategy.

Thesis (M. P. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.