This dissertation contains four essays on various topics in the fields of corporate finance and corporate governance. The first essay, entitled Corporate Governance and Ownership, presents an overview of the causes and consequences of, and possible remedies for, the separation of ownership and control in corporations. In particular, the essay addresses the costs and benefits of ownership concentration. A specific purpose is to put the role of ownership into perspective, while bringing the reader up to date with some recent developments. Essay number two, Shareholder Gains from Equity Private Placements: Evidence from the Stockholm Stock Exchange, contains an empirical investigation of the stockmarket’s reaction to announcements of equity private placements and rights issues. The essay sets out to test a range of hypotheses put forward in the literature. Extensive cross-sectional analyses of private placement discounts and abnormal returns are performed. The third essay is named Optimal Deterrence and Inducement of Take-overs: An analysis of Poison Pills and Dilution. This essay models how the ex ante wealth of shareholders could be increased with customized contractual provisions that affect takeover probabilities and premia. The proposed provisions resemble anti-takeover defense measures in the form of poison pill plans, and conversely, voluntary dilution schemes in the fashion prescribed by Sanford Grossman and Oliver Hart (1980). Finally, the fourth essay models the wealth effects of a particular takeover regulation, The Mandatory Bid Rule. This rule requires a potential bidder for a control position in a target firm to extend the offer to include any or all of the outstanding shares. Although the mandatory bid rule is aimed at the protection of minority shareholders, the essay argues that this regultion is not generally in the best interest of the shareholders. Each essay is self-contained and could, in principle, be read in any order chosen by the reader. However, for readers less familiar with the corporate finance literature, the first essay may also serve as a helpful introduction to the following three essays. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.

Essay one investigates registered insider sales as stated in the final prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to test managerial market timing ability during the Seasoned Equity Offering (SEO) process. Using a comprehensive sample of 1,051 SEOs between 1997 and 2005, the findings suggest that the initial market reaction and the long-run post-issue performance of issuers are negatively related to C-level executive insider sales, but unrelated to sales by non-executive insiders. Overall, the findings are consistent with the notion that executive insiders are aware of the mispricing in their firm’s securities and successfully time their sales by participating in the secondary components of SEOs. The implication is that SEOs with C-level executive sales are overvalued relative to both SEOs without insider sales and SEOs with only non-executive insider sales. In the second essay, we compare shareholder wealth effects of dual-class and single-class Seasoned Equity Offerings (SEOs) between 1997 and 2005. While there is no difference in pre-issue stock performance or the initial market reaction to the SEO announcements, dual-class issuers significantly underperform single-class issuers in the post-issue years. The mean three-year underperformance of dual-class firms relative to single-class is a significant 28.93% (30.45%) in buy-and-hold raw (abnormal) stock returns, and robust to alternative model specifications. We document that this relative long-run stock underperformance is related to differences in the impacts of post-issue capital expenditures and acquisitions for dual and single-class issuers. Similarly, post-issue corporate cash holdings also contribute less to the shareholder wealth for dual-class firms.

Die vorliegende Studie entstand, um die langfristige Renditeentwicklung polnischer Aktien nach Börseneinführungen und Kapitalerhöhungen in den Jahren 1994-2008 zu untersuchen. Ein besonderes Augenmerk richtet sich dabei auf die Erkennung und Analyse der performancerelevanten Unternehmenseigenschaften sowie auf die Erklärung der festgestellten Marktanomalien mit Hilfe ausgewählter Modellansätze. Die empirischen Analysen wurden aus dem Blickwinkel eines Kleininvestors durchgeführt, wodurch die meisten Ergebnisse, neben dem wissenschaftlichen Wert, eine hohe Praxisrelevanz besitzen. Die Untersuchung von insgesamt 263 Börseneinführungen ergab, dass die Emissionsrenditen der meisten Aktien zwar signifikant positiv waren, längerfristig bauten sie sich aber ab. Am Ende des 36-sten Notierungsmonats wiesen sie insgesamt eine starke Underperformance auf. Dabei entwickelten sich die langfristigen marktbereinigten IPO-Renditen in den 90-er Jahren wesentlich schlechter, als nach der Jahrhundertwende. Die Analyse des Kursverhaltens nach 157 Kapitalerhöhungen durch Aktien- und Bezugsrechtsemissionen zeigte, dass innerhalb der dreijährigen Halteperiode die Performance der betrachteten Stichprobe von der Rendite des Gesamtmarktes nur geringfügig abweichte. Dabei entwickelten sich die Kurse von Aktien der kleineren Firmen wesentlich schlechter, als die Aktienkurse der hochkapitalisierten Unternehmen. / This study investigates the long-term stock return after initial public offerings and seasoned equity offerings occurred between 1994 and 2008. A particular attention is being paid to the identification and analysis of performance-relevant issuing firm characteristics and the explanation of the identified market anomalies by means of the preselected explanatory models. Since the empirical study was carried out from the small investor’s perspective, the majority of the obtained results provide not only a considerable scientific value, but also a strong relevance to the actual practice. The study examined 263 IPOs of common stocks and found an overwhelmingly positive initial return. However, this return vanished gradually on the long run, resulting in a high overall underperformance in 36 months after the first listing. In this respect, it is remarkable that the long-term returns of the IPO-stocks issued in the 1990s proved considerably lower than of those placed after 2000. The examination of the long-term stock price behaviour after 157 SEOs reveals only a tiny difference between the performance of the sample and the overall market return. Noteworthy is however the fact that equity issues conducted by smaller firms led usually to significantly poorer stock performance, than when equity was offered by large capitalized companies.

Agency Costs of Controlling Minority Shareholders (coauthored with Henrik Cronqvist) estimates the agency costs of controlling minority shareholders (CMSs) using a panel of Swedish listed firms. CMSs are owners who have a control stake of the firm’s votes while owning only a minority fraction of the firm’s equity. The study documents that families in control are almost exclusively CMSs through an extensive use of dual-class shares. The results show that increased ownership of votes by a controlling owner is associated with an economically and statistically significant decrease in firm value, but that the decrease in firm value is significantly larger for firms with family CMSs than for firms with financial institutions or corporations in control. This indicates that the agency costs of family CMSs are larger than the agency costs of other controlling owners.Family Ownership, Control Considerations, and Corporate Financing Decisions: An Empirical Analysis analyzes the relation between concentrated family control and firms’ choice of capital structure for a panel of Swedish listed firms. The results suggest that the capital structure choices made by firms with families in control are influenced by the controlling families’ desire to protect their control, and that the resulting capital structures are likely to increase the agency costs of family control. The Choice between Rights Offerings and Private Equity Placements (coauthored with Henrik Cronqvist) analyzes the determinants of the choice between rights offerings and private equity placements using a sample of rights offerings and private placements made by listed Swedish firms. The results indicate that control considerations explain why firms make uninsured rights offerings. The evidence also suggest that private placements, and to some extent underwritten rights offerings, are made by potentially undervalued firms in order to overcome underinvestment problems resulting from asymmetric information about firm value. Furthermore, private placements are frequently made in conjunction with the establishment of a product market relationship between purchaser and seller, which is consistent with equity ownership reducing contracting costs in new product market relationships. Why Agency Costs Explain Diversification Discounts (coauthored with Henrik Cronqvist and Peter Högfeldt) studies diversification within the real estate industry, in which firms can diversify over property types and geographical regions. Similar to previous studies, this essay documents the existence of a diversification discount. However, the major cause of the diversification discount is not diversification per se but anticipated costs due to rent dissipation in future diversifying acquisitions. Firms expected to pursue non-focusing strategies do indeed diversify more, are valued ex ante at a 20% discount over firms anticipated to follow a focusing strategy, and are predominantly family controlled. The ex ante diversification discount is, therefore, a measure of agency costs.  The Difference in Acquirer Returns between Takeovers of Public Targets and Takeovers of Private Targets shows, for a sample of Swedish takeovers, that the average acquirer abnormal return is positive and significant when the target firm is privately held but insignificant when the target firm is listed on a stock exchange. These results are robust when controlling for sample selection problems and other variables capable of explaining acquirer returns. The evidence is consistent with greater acquirer bargaining power and resolution of information asymmetries in takeovers of private targets. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2002

本研究探討台灣上市櫃公司發行可轉債及現金增資的決策議題。從發行公司的角度來看，利用錯誤評價及成長機會，同時輔以一些公司特徵變數以了解發行動機。後續並追蹤發行公司發行後資金運用情形，以了解發行公司發行動機及目的是否一致。另一方面，從投資人角度來看，觀察可轉債及現金增資公司宣告效果，並由後續資金配置驗證宣告效果之可靠性。 本研究採用Rhodes-Kropf, Robinson and Viswanathan(2005)提出的方法，將市值帳面比(M/B)拆解成錯誤評價與成長機會。以2001年至2011年台灣上市上櫃公司發行可轉債或現金增資為研究對象，發現無論是可轉債或現金增資，發行公司發行前錯誤評價及成長機會皆顯著較未發行公司高。接著，利用logit模型，發現可轉債發行公司之成長機會及代理問題為其主要發行動機，而現金增資公司則利用資訊不對稱擇時與調整資本結構為發行考量。本文進一步檢視發行後資金配置情況，發現成長機會越高之可轉債，後續資金用途顯著投資於資本支出與研發費用上，符合實質投資理論之觀點。另一方面，錯誤評價越高之現金增資，在前兩年有累積現金之現象，但不用於償還長期負債，且顯著運用於資本支出與研發費用上，僅部分符合行為理論之解釋。因此，本研究歸納現金增資公司發行動機除擇時外，亦有投資需求。最後，在宣告效果上，可轉債與現金增資均呈現負向宣告效果，且投資人給予現金增資較為負向的宣告效果，本文認為此乃投資人意識到公司利用資訊不對稱擇時，且後續資金配置不完全符合行為理論的預期造成的結果。 / This study examines the issuance of convertible bonds (CBs) and seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) for listed companies in TSE and OTC market in Taiwan. From the aspects of issuers, we use mispricing and growth opportunities along with other firm characteristics to understand the motivation of the issuance. We also track the use of post-issue proceeds and relate to the motivations of issuers. From the aspects of investors, we look at the announcement effects to examine appropriateness. We decompose market-to-book ratios into mispricing and growth option components through a methodology proposed by Rhodes-Kropf, Robinson and Viswanathan (2005). By using the samples of CB and SEO issuance between 2001 and 2011, we find that issuing firms of both types are overvalued and have greater growth opportunities relative to non-issuers. Next, we find that CB issuers show greater pre-issue growth opportunities and agency problems, while SEO issuers have greater pre-issue mispricing and tend to adjust capital structure implied by logit model. Furthermore, we examine the post-issue use of proceeds. For CB, firms with greater growth opportunities invest more in capital expenditures and R&D, consistent with real investment explanations. On the other hand, for SEO, firms with greater mispricing stockpile cash in the first two years but don’t pay down long-term debt. They also invest in capital expenditures and R&D. Thus, we conclude that the motivation of SEO firms might be timing and investment needs, partly consistent with behavioral explanations. Finally, the announcement effect of SEO is more negative than CB. Judging from the evidence above, it seems that investors know something.

I tidigare studier har det framkommit att amerikanska företag manipulerar sina finansiella räkenskaper inför en nyemission med hjälp av Earnings Management genom oförklarliga periodiseringar. Detta görs i syfte att reflektera en bättre bild av företagets finansiella ställning gentemot hur det i verkligheten ser ut. Företeelsen tillämpas med avsikt att erhålla ett större finansiellt riskkapital då företaget utfärdar nyemission. Denna studie undersöker om svenska företag agerar likt amerikanska företag vid en nyemission och därför är syftet i studien att undersöka om svenska företag tillämpar Earnings Management genom oförklarliga periodiseringar vid perioden då de utfärdar nyemission. Svenska företag har varit av intresse i följande studie då svenska företag verkar under ett annorlunda redovisnings- och skattesystem än amerikanska företag gör, varpå vi vill testa om teorin Earnings Management genom oförklarliga periodiseringar är tillämpbar på även svenska företag, trots de skillnader som föreligger mellan ländernas lagsystem. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av en kvantitativ metod som vi presenterat med hjälp av en deskriptiv statistisk analys. De resultat som framkommit i studien är att även svenska, såväl som amerikanska, företag tillämpar Earnings Management genom oförklarliga periodiseringar vid de kvartal då ska utfärda nyemission, trots de olikheter i redovisnings- och skattesystem som råder länderna emellan. Förutom detta visar studien på att svenska företag även tillämpar en extrem form av Earnings Management samt att olika branscher tillämpar Earnings Management genom oförklarliga periodiseringar i olika grad då de ska utfärda nyemission. De resultat som framkommer i följande studie visar att det är av stor betydelse att investerare har en medvetenhet om att Earnings Management genom oförklarliga periodiseringar förekommer när svenska företag ska utfärda nyemission. Detta är av vikt då tidigare studier har påvisat att många investerare som förvärvat aktier i företagen som tillämpat Earnings Management genom oförklarliga periodiseringar har känt en besvikelse samt upplevt att de blivit missledda av företagens publicerade finansiella rapporter efter nyemissionen. Besvikelsen grundar sig i att det rapporterade resultatet vanligtvis kraftigt sjunker kvartalen efter nyemission då företagen tillämpat Earnings management genom oförklarliga periodiseringar. / In previous studies, it has been found that US companies manipulate their financial statements before issuing Seasoned Equity Offerings (SEO) using Accrual-based Earnings Management. This is done by the company in order to reflect a better financial position compared to their true underlying financial performance. Accrual-based Earnings Management is applied with the intention of obtaining larger financial capital when issuing SEOs. This study examines whether Swedish companies, consistent with US companies, apply the phenomenon in a similar way while issuing SEOs and the purpose of our study is therefore to investigate whether Swedish companies apply Accrual-based Earnings Management in the period they issue SEOs. Swedish companies have been of interest in the following study, as Swedish companies operate under a different accounting and tax law compared to that of American companies. As a result, we want to test the theory of Accrual-based Earnings Management to see if it is applicable to Swedish companies, despite the differences in tax law that exists between the countries. The study has been conducted using a quantitative methodology which has been presented through a descriptive statistical analysis. Our results imply that Swedish- as well as American companies, apply Accrual-based Earnings Management in the period they issue SEOs. This is found despite differences in accounting and tax law between the two countries. In addition to this, the study also shows that Swedish companies apply an extreme form of Accrual-based Earnings Management, and that it exist industrial differences in the level of Accrual-based Earnings Management that is applied when issuing SEOs. The results found in the following study show that it is of the utmost importance that investors have an awareness regarding Accrual-based Earnings Management and that it occurs when Swedish companies issue a SEO. This is important as previous studies have shown that many investors who acquired shares in the companies who applied Accrual-based Earnings Management when issuing SEOs, have felt disappointed and have found that they have been misled by the companies published financial reports following the SEO. The disappointment is based on the fact that as companies apply Accrual-based Earnings Management, the companies reported earnings usually fall in the period after issuing a SEO.

Cette thèse a pour objet d’analyser l’impact du suivi par les analystes financiers lors de l’introduction en bourse sur la qualité du marché secondaire et sur la future vie boursière de l’entreprise. Dans cet objectif, trois études empiriques sont menées sur le marché français. La première apporte une nouvelle explication à la relation positive qui existe entre la sous-évaluation initiale et la liquidité sur le marché secondaire. Elle montre que cette relation positive se forme par le biais de la couverture des analystes financiers. En se basant sur la méthode de l’analyse de survie, notre deuxième étude révèle que le suivi par les analystes financiers a un impact positif sur la durée de vie boursière de l’entreprise. La troisième étude démontre que la couverture peut également influencer l’occurrence et la rapidité d’occurrence d’une émission secondaire. Il apparaît que les firmes les plus couvertes au moment de l’introduction sont celles qui retournent le plus rapidement au marché pour effectuer une émission secondaire garantie. Ces travaux soulignent l’importance du suivi par les analystes financiers des introductions en bourse. / This thesis aims to analyze the impact of IPO analyst coverage on the quality of the secondary market and on the future market life of the firm. For this purpose, three empirical studies are conducted on the French market. The first one provides a new explanation for the positive relation between initial underpricing and post-listing liquidity. We find that this positive relation is formed through analyst coverage. Our second study shows that analyst coverage has a significant positive impact on IPOs survival. The third study explores the linkage between analyst coverage and subsequent seasoned equity offerings. Our results indicate that analyst coverage is a significant predictor of subsequent SEO and that more covered firms are those that return more quickly for an insured offering. Our findings enlighten the importance of analyst coverage around IPOs.

[pt] Em 2014, a Comissão de Valores Mobiliários incluiu as ofertas de capital na instrução regulotória para emissões via esforços restritos, permitindo às empresas ofertar suas ações por meio de procedimentos mais simples e rápidos, revelando menos informação para o mercado. Por sua vez, as firmas que escolhem esse método de emissão são autorizadas a vender as novas ações para um grupo constituído por não mais que 50 investidores qualificados. Desde que as novas regras entraram em vigor, quase todas as emissões de capital secundárias feitas por empresas listadas em bolsa se deram pelo método de esforços restritos. Neste trabalho, estudamos o impacto do novo cenário regulatório sobre dois tipos de custos associados às emissões secundárias de capital: o primeiro, indireto, é o efeito dos anúncios de oferta no preço das ações das empresas emissoras. Um estudo de eventos mostra que os retornos anormais numa janela de três dias ao redor da data de anúncio são, em média, 3,23 pontos percentuais mais altos quando a firma emite capital via esforços restritos em vez do método tradicional. O segundo tipo de custo, o direto, consiste nas comissões pagas aos coordenadores da oferta e outras despesas. Sob esforços restritos, esses dispêndios (como porcentagem do total levantado pela oferta) são, em média, 1,01 pontos percentuais mais baixos que aqueles incorridos em ofertas feitas sob as regras tradicionais. Argumentamos que a redução nos dois tipos de custos se deve (ao menos parcialmente) à mitigação da assimetria de informação proporcionada pelo novo método de emissão. / [en] In 2014, the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission included equity offerings in the restricted efforts regulatory instruction, allowing firms to issue equity through simpler, faster procedures, disclosing less information to the market. In turn, firms choosing that issuance method are allowed to sell their new shares to a group consisting of no more than 50 qualified investors. Since the new rules came into force, almost all seasoned equity offerings carried out by listed companies took place under restricted efforts. In this work, we study the impact of the new regulatory setting on two types of costs regarding seasoned equity offerings: the first, an indirect one, is the effect of offering announcements on the issuer s stock price. An event study shows that abnormal returns in a three-day window around the announcement are, on average, 3.23 percentage points higher when the company issues equity under restricted efforts rather than traditional rules. The second type of cost, the direct one, consists of fees paid to the underwriters and other expenses. Under restricted efforts, those fees (as a percentage of total offering proceeds) are, on average, 1.01 percentage point lower than fees charged in the offerings that follow the traditional procedures. We argue that the reduction in the two types of costs is due (at least partially) to the mitigation of information asymmetry provided by the new issuance method.

Unlike in the days of yore where storytelling was primarily known for its entertainment value, storytelling should be harnessed to make people's livelihood. Chapter 1 serves as prologue wherein the background of the study, problem statement, statement of aims, research methodology, research questions, hypotheses, definition of terms and organization of the study are presented. Storytelling began with the aim of transmitting the culture of people from one generation to another. There are different theories to account for the origin of stories. The identified problem is that storytelling is dying because it has not yet been professionalised in African languages. For storytelling to become viable in South Africa, storytellers have to be economically empowered. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed in this study. Various questions have been prepared for use when interviewing the respondents. As a point of departure, the research hypotheses were laid down. Various concepts used in the study have been defined in order to clarify any misconceptions. For a study to follow a predetermined plan, it has to be organised in its initial stage. For that reason what has been discussed in each chapter has been summarised in the first chapter. Chapter 2 presents views of scholars, researchers and authors in general on how storytelling could be professionalised. The factors which retard the professionalisation of storytelling were also provided. The furnished views are classified according to their similarity. In Chapter 3, the methodology used in the gathering of research data is outlined. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used, but the qualitative method more extensively because this is an explorative study. Data was collected through interviewing, questionnaires, documents and observation methods. Two sampling methods were used to select the respondents: the snowball sampling method and the judgmental or purposeful sampling design. The setting of the study was determined by the accessibility and the willingness of the respondents to use the site. Once the data was collected, it was analysed and interpreted. Chapter 4 focuses on the analysis and interpretation of the research data collected through interviews, questionnaires and systematic observations. During data analysis, similar themes from different respondents were combined in order to interpret the main findings. All such themes are discussed under major categories. In this chapter, themes were identified in relation to how storytelling might be professionalised. The fifth chapter outlines the main findings arrived at during the analysis and the interpretation of the data. To make this study more pragmatic, the findings are accompanied by suggested recommendations. The final chapter provides a general conclusion to the entire study. The success of professionalised storytelling and storytellers, the implications in terms of teaching and professionalisation, the implications for further study and the limitations of the study are also dealt with in this chapter. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

Unlike in the days of yore where storytelling was primarily known for its entertainment value, storytelling should be harnessed to make people's livelihood. Chapter 1 serves as prologue wherein the background of the study, problem statement, statement of aims, research methodology, research questions, hypotheses, definition of terms and organization of the study are presented. Storytelling began with the aim of transmitting the culture of people from one generation to another. There are different theories to account for the origin of stories. The identified problem is that storytelling is dying because it has not yet been professionalised in African languages. For storytelling to become viable in South Africa, storytellers have to be economically empowered. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed in this study. Various questions have been prepared for use when interviewing the respondents. As a point of departure, the research hypotheses were laid down. Various concepts used in the study have been defined in order to clarify any misconceptions. For a study to follow a predetermined plan, it has to be organised in its initial stage. For that reason what has been discussed in each chapter has been summarised in the first chapter. Chapter 2 presents views of scholars, researchers and authors in general on how storytelling could be professionalised. The factors which retard the professionalisation of storytelling were also provided. The furnished views are classified according to their similarity. In Chapter 3, the methodology used in the gathering of research data is outlined. Both qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used, but the qualitative method more extensively because this is an explorative study. Data was collected through interviewing, questionnaires, documents and observation methods. Two sampling methods were used to select the respondents: the snowball sampling method and the judgmental or purposeful sampling design. The setting of the study was determined by the accessibility and the willingness of the respondents to use the site. Once the data was collected, it was analysed and interpreted. Chapter 4 focuses on the analysis and interpretation of the research data collected through interviews, questionnaires and systematic observations. During data analysis, similar themes from different respondents were combined in order to interpret the main findings. All such themes are discussed under major categories. In this chapter, themes were identified in relation to how storytelling might be professionalised. The fifth chapter outlines the main findings arrived at during the analysis and the interpretation of the data. To make this study more pragmatic, the findings are accompanied by suggested recommendations. The final chapter provides a general conclusion to the entire study. The success of professionalised storytelling and storytellers, the implications in terms of teaching and professionalisation, the implications for further study and the limitations of the study are also dealt with in this chapter. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)