In this research, it is examined whether U.S. domiciled multinational enterprises (MNEs) or U.S. domestic enterprises (DEs) emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and whether MNEs spend less time (duration) in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process than their DE counterparts. This research also studies the degree of multinationality and if the degree impacts positive recovery and duration from Chapter 11 bankruptcy on MNEs. This study consists of 403 companies, with 204 classified as MNEs and 199 classified as DEs, examining multinational diversification, internationalization, imperfect capital markets, and real options as measured by each firms' days in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. The results of this study show that the MNEs are more successful than DEs emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The duration of Chapter 11 for MNEs is basically the same for DEs, and the impact of degree of multinationality is not significant for either emergence or duration. However, the results did find that when using the number of foreign subsidiaries as the variable for degree, the predictive powers were significant in support that MNEs are more likely to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy than similar DEs, cet par

In this thesis, I investigate economic and policy implications of corporate debt financing. In the first chapter, I examine whether or not leverage has a negative effect on corporate investment due to a debt overhang problem. Existing empirical studies face a challenging endogeneity problem inherent in the investment-leverage relationship, the source of which is the firm's anticipation of its growth opportunities. I develop a novel approach to control for this problem by using analysts' earnings forecasts as an anticipation measure. I show that anticipations influence the investment-leverage relationship in that firms that do anticipate future growth opportunities suffer less from debt overhang. In the second chapter, I extend Chapter One's analysis to a dynamic setting. I first establish that there is a stable long-term relationship between investment and leverage, and then disentangle the short-term dynamics of leverage and investment and find that the deviation of leverage from its benchmark path has a negative impact on the change in investment. I also employ dynamic panel models to estimate the causal dynamic effects of leverage on investment. The estimations show that the impact is negative for recent leverage, but positive for leverage in the more distant past. Also, the effects of leverage are attenuated when the investment uncertainties are further controlled. This suggests that the firm's response to investment uncertainties might explain dynamic effects of leverage on investment. In Chapter Three, I investigate the effects of the U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy-reorganization law on firm operating performance, and adopt matching methods to account for self-selection and heterogeneity in firms' pre-filing characteristics. Matching methods entail the selection of a control group of non-bankrupt firms that are comparable to Chapter 11 filing firms in a wide range of pre-filing characteristics that affect filing decisions. Comparing the operating performances of the two groups, I find that filing firms' net cash flows, but not operating incomes, improve significantly during bankruptcy. Furthermore, firms reduce their leverage levels and incur lower interest expenses after bankruptcy. The results suggest that the reduction in interest expenses contributes to the improvement in firms' net cash flows during bankruptcy.

In this thesis, I investigate economic and policy implications of corporate debt financing. In the first chapter, I examine whether or not leverage has a negative effect on corporate investment due to a debt overhang problem. Existing empirical studies face a challenging endogeneity problem inherent in the investment-leverage relationship, the source of which is the firm's anticipation of its growth opportunities. I develop a novel approach to control for this problem by using analysts' earnings forecasts as an anticipation measure. I show that anticipations influence the investment-leverage relationship in that firms that do anticipate future growth opportunities suffer less from debt overhang. In the second chapter, I extend Chapter One's analysis to a dynamic setting. I first establish that there is a stable long-term relationship between investment and leverage, and then disentangle the short-term dynamics of leverage and investment and find that the deviation of leverage from its benchmark path has a negative impact on the change in investment. I also employ dynamic panel models to estimate the causal dynamic effects of leverage on investment. The estimations show that the impact is negative for recent leverage, but positive for leverage in the more distant past. Also, the effects of leverage are attenuated when the investment uncertainties are further controlled. This suggests that the firm's response to investment uncertainties might explain dynamic effects of leverage on investment. In Chapter Three, I investigate the effects of the U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy-reorganization law on firm operating performance, and adopt matching methods to account for self-selection and heterogeneity in firms' pre-filing characteristics. Matching methods entail the selection of a control group of non-bankrupt firms that are comparable to Chapter 11 filing firms in a wide range of pre-filing characteristics that affect filing decisions. Comparing the operating performances of the two groups, I find that filing firms' net cash flows, but not operating incomes, improve significantly during bankruptcy. Furthermore, firms reduce their leverage levels and incur lower interest expenses after bankruptcy. The results suggest that the reduction in interest expenses contributes to the improvement in firms' net cash flows during bankruptcy.

Insolvency law is a progressive and dynamic legal discipline closely interrelated with economics and business. A quality legal framework of insolvency is indispensable for modern market economies: it helps to identify companies or individuals in financial distress and to restructure their debts, or liquidate their assets in an efficient and transparent way. The main purpose of the insolvency law is to provide creditors and debtors with a ground for negotiations and to help them reach qualified decisions based on the available information. In the Czech Republic, the insolvency law had long been criticized for its insufficient protection of creditors and for the loopholes that made extensive property frauds possible without having the wrongdoers punished. The current Czech Insolvency Act which took effect in 2008 was broadly inspired by the U.S. Bankruptcy Code Chapter 11 and eliminated most of the weaknesses of the earlier law. This thesis shows that valuable inspiration can be found not only in texts of statutes but also in the real life. On the example of reorganizations of Kordárna and GM described here, main principles of insolvency law are being discussed.

An increasing number of restructuring proceedings in both the United States and Canada end in the liquidation of the debtor company. This might prejudice the rescue culture approach which is deeply rooted in both countries bankruptcy laws. At the very least, it is the expression of different economic circumstances and of a different creditors’ structure which has excited for a little over a decade. This thesis gives an overview of the different approaches available in Germany, Canada and the United States to rescue a debtor and explains what exactly is meant by a rescue culture policy. Furthermore, it examines the extent to which each legislator has embraced the rescue culture approach. Finally, it looks at the reasons and consequences of the above mentioned current North-American trend and examines the extent to which these developments may influence the outcome of restructuring proceedings in Germany.

An increasing number of restructuring proceedings in both the United States and Canada end in the liquidation of the debtor company. This might prejudice the rescue culture approach which is deeply rooted in both countries bankruptcy laws. At the very least, it is the expression of different economic circumstances and of a different creditors’ structure which has excited for a little over a decade. This thesis gives an overview of the different approaches available in Germany, Canada and the United States to rescue a debtor and explains what exactly is meant by a rescue culture policy. Furthermore, it examines the extent to which each legislator has embraced the rescue culture approach. Finally, it looks at the reasons and consequences of the above mentioned current North-American trend and examines the extent to which these developments may influence the outcome of restructuring proceedings in Germany.

Firms that emerged from Chapter 11 as public companies have tons of characteristics. The first essay analyzes their post bankruptcy performance, duration effect, and the quality of their projection information. While the sample's post bankruptcy performance does show improvement, their projections tend to be optimistic. Firms with shorter durations in Chapter 11generally achieve better performance than those with longer durations, in terms of Z-scores, but not in excess returns. Compared to firms that did not provide (complete) projection information, the sample firms generally exhibit better improvement, as measured by Z-scores and short term excess returns. The second essay tracks the holding period return in investing in bankrupt stocks using a buy-and-hold strategy. Holding period return using stock price alone cannot show the entire story, as when considering final distributions plus the stock price, we see a much severe loss. In the regression analysis, the results reveal that liquidity is always a key factor in explaining the returns. Profitability and information uncertainty plays a significant role in explaining the positive returns, while liquidity and (un)profitability are the two key issues in negative returns. In addition, the involvement of hedge funds does not show signs of better stock performance. The third essay explores the role hedge funds play as investors in bankrupt firms. The results show that their major contributions are to provide liquidity for and help the troubled firms improve their profitability. Compared the performances in post bankruptcy to pre-bankruptcy level, bankrupt firms with hedge funds involvement tend to be in better shape compared to the ones without any vulture investments, however, firms with hedge fund show comparable results with the ones with other vulture investors, such as private equities. In addition, the above improvements only appear in the short run, and the involvement of hedge funds does not guarantee a better stock performance. Therefore, hedge funds are more of financial players, rather than strategic players, as hedge funds do not help the troubled firms go through a systematic restructuring to achieve sustainable improvements.

La tesi mette a confronto l'universo delle riorganizzazioni nel Chapter 11 con i nuovi modelli di ristrutturazione concessi dalla riforma del diritto fallimentare. In modo particolare la tesi si sofferma sul mercato del controllo nella crisi di impresa. Negli Stati Uniti c'e' da tempo un mercato dei crediti sofferenti, mentre in Italia scontiamo ancora i ritardi del sistema economico. Il primo capitolo racconta i temi collegati al mercato del controllo nel Chapter 11: gli acquisti dei crediti nelle diverse classi creditorie, la nuova finanza concessa al debtor in possession, il controllo da covenant, la remunerazione degli amministratori con il debito, i derivati sul credito e il voto connesso. Il secondo capitolo si sofferma sull'interpretazione degli artt. 124 e 127 della legge fallimentare letti nell'ottica di un potenziale mercato del controllo nella crisi di impresa come nel caso del concordato con assunzione e si interroga infine sull'esenzione o meno da opa obbligatoria di tali operazioni alla luce dell'art. 106 TUF. / The thesis compares the world of Chapter 11 reorganizations with the new types of reorganizations introduced in Italy by the recent reform of bankruptcy law. In particular the thesis deals with the market for corporate control in the insolvency arena in both countries. In the States bankruptcy claims are traded on a regular basis whereas Italy still hasn't fully experienced transfers of control within the frame of a corporate reorganization. The first chapter focuses on all issues connected to US M&A in bankruptcy: acquisition of claims in the different classes, control rights in covenants, debtor-in-possession financing, pay for performance in bankruptcy, credit default swaps and empty voting. The second chapter focuses on the interpretation of articles 124 and 127 of the new Italian bankruptcy law which may lead to the creation of a market for corporate control within the frame of a composition with a third party buyer and discusses the potential applicability of mandatory bids pursuant to art. 106 TUF to such deals.

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Cette thèse cherche à intégrer une conception riche de l'information à l'étude des ruées bancaires et de la contagion informationnelle. Elle s'intéresse à la détection de l'insolvabilité bancaire et à l'initiation des procédures de résolution. Le premier chapitre est une revue de la littérature sur les ruées bancaires s'intéressant du modèle "canonique" de Diamond & Dybvig (1983, J Pol Econ 91 (3): 401-19) et ses alternatives. Le second chapitre traite des théories de la contagion financière. Puis, la thèse propose une réinterprétation de ces deux littératures s'intéressant aux propriétés qualitatives de l'information produite par l'apprentissage endogène. La seconde partie est consacrée aux conséquences de cette réinterprétation pour le droit bancaire. D'abord, des parallèles sont tracés entre les ruées bancaires et le modèle de la "négociation des créanciers" de la théorie de l'insolvabilité. L'analyse positive suggère qu'il satisfait mieux la littérature empirique, et l'analyse normative que les "négociations des créanciers" sont mieux gérées par les institutions de la faillite d'entreprise plutôt que par les résolutions administratives. Ensuite, ces apports sont utilisés pour une analyse comparative institutionnelle des régimes de faillite des grandes institutions financières non bancaires américaines s'appuyant sur les principes de la Robust Political Economy. La thèse présente deux résultats principaux. Les crises informationnelles bancaires produisent l'information nécessaire à leurs résolutions. L'initiation des procédures de résolution de l'insolvabilité par le débiteur peut être un mécanisme robuste dans certains des cas étudiés. / This dissertation seeks to integrate a rich conception of information in the study of bank runs and informational contagion. In particular, it is interested in the detection of bank insolvency and the initiation of insolvency resolution procedures.The first chapter is a review of the literature on bank runs focused on the "canonical" model of Diamond & Dybvig (1983, J Pol Econ 91 (3): 401-19) and its alternatives. The second chapter deals with the theories of financial contagion. Then the dissertation proposes a reinterpretation of these two literatures focusing on the qualitative properties of the information produced by endogenous learning.The second part deals with the consequences of this reinterpretation for banking law. First, parallels are drawn between bank runs and the "creditors' bargain" model of bankruptcy theory. The positive analysis suggests that it better satisfies the empirical literature, and normative analysis that "creditor bargains" are better managed by the institutions of corporate bankruptcy than administrative resolutions. Then, these contributions are used for a comparative institutional analysis of bankruptcy regimes large US non-bank financial institutions based on the principles of Robust Political Economy.The thesis has two main results. Informational banking crises produce the information necessary for their own resolutions. The initiation of insolvency resolution procedures by the debtor can be a robust mechanism in some of the cases studied.