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.

Cette thèse apporte une lumière sur divers aspects du financement par émission d’obligations convertibles sur le marché ouest européen entre 1994 et 2016. La première étude analyse la réaction du marché à l’annonce d’obligations convertibles en période de crise. Nos résultats montrent une réaction significativement plus négative en période de crise qu’en période normale. L’étude des déterminants de cette réaction indique que les investisseurs intègrent le potentiel des obligations convertibles à réduire les coûts de financement externes. Cependant, la réaction négative du marché est au moins partiellement due à la suspicion d’une possible surévaluation de l’émetteur et cette suspicion est exacerbée en périodes de crise financière. Par ailleurs, nous montrons qu’une part de la réaction négative enregistrée à l’annonce des convertibles est probablement due aux ventes à découvert opérées par les arbitragistes. La deuxième étude de cette thèse teste la théorie du financement séquentiel de Mayers (1998) qui prédit que le recours aux obligations convertibles permet de financer de façon optimale des investissements séquentiels. Nous évaluons l’importance du call émetteur dans la mise en œuvre optimale du financement séquentiel en comparant les activités de financement et d’investissement des firmes ayant rappelées par anticipation leurs obligations convertibles à celles d'entreprises du même secteur les ayant remboursées normalement à leur échéance. Nos résultats indiquent que la clause de rachat anticipé permet aux émetteurs de minimiser les coûts d’émissions et signale une stratégie de financement séquentiel sous sa forme « forte ». De plus, le modèle des doubles différences indique que les firmes ayant rappelées leurs convertibles par anticipation investissent plus que les entreprises les ayant remboursées normalement aux dates de rappel et ce en considérant les effets temporels et autres variables de contrôle. Le dernier chapitre de cette thèse traite de la politique de remboursement anticipé des obligations convertibles. Nous montrons à l’instar des études précédentes que les firmes retardent le rappel de leurs convertibles par rapport au point optimal de rappel préconisé par Ingersoll (1977). L’analyse des différentes théories justifiant le rappel tardif des obligations convertibles débouche sur des résultats cohérents avec l’hypothèse de détresse financière mais rejette celles liées à l’existence de la période de notification. / This thesis focuses on three aspects of convertible bonds financing using a Western European sample between 1994 and 2016. The first study of this thesis is related to the shareholder wealth effects at the announcement of the convertible bonds issuance during financial crises. We find that the market reaction is more negative during crises’ periods compared to that in normal periods. Analysis of the determinant of this reaction indicates that the market recognizes the potential of convertible bonds to reduce agency and adverse selection costs. However, we also find that the signal of overvaluation sent by the issuance mitigates the investors’ optimism about the ability of the convertible bonds to alleviate external financing costs and this bad signal is exacerbated during the financial crises. Furthermore, we find that firms that are short-sale constrained incur less negative market reaction. The second study tests the sequential financing theory of Mayers (1998) which supports that firms issue callable convertible bonds in order to implement optimal sequential financing strategy. We point out in this study the importance of the call provision by comparing the investment and financing activities of Western European firms that early called their convertible bonds to those in the same industry that redeemed their bonds at maturity. We find that the inclusion of such provision allows firms (callable convertible bonds issuers) to better control issuance costs and signals a “strong” sequential financing strategy. We also find that the calling firms invest more than the non-calling firms at the call date and the difference-in-differences model shows that this difference is due to the call decision, after controlling for time fixed effects and other control variables. The last chapter of this thesis addresses the issue of convertible bonds call delay. As previous studies, we find that the companies do not call their bond at the optimum point identified by Ingersoll (1977). Unlike previous researches in the same area, our study considers the main theoretical rationales for convertible bonds call delay. We find strong evidence for the financial distress hypothesis, little evidence for cash flow advantage and signaling theories but no evidence for the notice period justification.

This thesis investigates the current interrelationship between the provisions contained in the Swedish Company Act (2005:551) and activities related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) pursued by companies listed at Nasdaq Stockholm. The focal point of this thesis could be argued to be of particular relevance in this day and age, as companies listed at Nasdaq Stockholm continue to perform at the top of the league in global sustainability performance measurements, and Swedish and European legislators have intensified their efforts to encourage businesses to operate in a way that does not incur unacceptable social costs to society. Thus, most companies, particularly those with a vested interest in the private consumer market, seem to recognise the importance of fostering long-term relationships with a wide sphere of stakeholders. The purpose of the thesis has been to contribute to the steadily increasing body of legal research that discusses to what extent Swedish companies, without breaching corporate law, could involve themselves in CSR investments. Since I, initially, conclude that Swedish publicly listed companies seem to increasingly invest in activities related to CSR, the thesis also discusses whether the relevant provisions of the SCA need to change to better adapt to companies’ involvement in CSR activities. In brief, I argue, that current business research on CSR coupled with the aforementioned relevant provisions of the SCA allow boards and managing directors to pursue practically any CSR investments, and that shareholders are mostly restricted to rely on relatively blunt ex post actions against a board and/or managing director that has pursued an ill-considered CSR investment, including the obvious choices of voting to replace the board or selling their shares. And since current business research has not consistently proven the positive impact of CSR policies on the financial performance of businesses there are reasons to suspect that the law practically, due to the shielding force of the business judgment rationale and the legislator’s wish to protect most transactions, cannot be effectively applied to stop CSR investments, even if these are nothing but costs for the business. On the other hand, the findings of the thesis also suggest that the occurrence of such unwise CSR investments is not necessarily a proliferating problem, since many companies listed at Nasdaq Stockholm nowadays have powerful and short-sighted institutional owners. The situation might therefore very well be the opposite and that executives struggle to manage for the long-term, as the logic of the market tell them to do otherwise. / Den här examensuppsatsen utforskar förhållandet mellan några av aktiebolagslagens regler och det engagemang som bolag noterade på Nasdaq Stockholm uppvisar i frågor rörande Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Ämnet kan sägas vara särskilt relevant då såväl det samtida näringslivet som lagstiftaren tycks präglas av en ökad medvetenhet kring CSR-frågor. Den ökade medvetenheten i näringslivet förefaller alltmer inverka på affärsbeslut, ett faktum som inte minst avspeglas i de svenska bolagens topplaceringar i globala index som mäter bolags arbete med hållbarhetsfrågor. Samtidigt speglas lagstiftarens ökade medvetenhet av allt fler svenska som europeiska regulatoriska initiativ på området och vars yttersta syfte är att uppmuntra och stimulera hållbara företag som inte pådyvlar samhället oacceptabla sociala kostnader. Det är således inte särskilt anmärkningsvärt att bolagen, i synnerhet de med intressen anknutna till konsumentmarknaderna, tycks erkänna vikten av att bygga och underhålla långsiktiga relationer med en vidare krets av intressenter än deras aktieägare. Det är min förhoppning att den här uppsatsen kommer att bidra till den ständigt växande del av den aktiebolagsrättsliga diskursen som diskuterar till vilken grad bolag, utan att handla i strid med ABL:s bestämmelser, kan företa åtgärder kopplade till CSR. Eftersom jag inledningsvis anför att bolagen på Nasdaq Stockholm tycks ägna sig allt mer åt CSR diskuterar också uppsatsen om några av ABL:s bestämmelser bör förändras för att bättre hantera dessa företags allt större engagemang i CSR-frågor. Sammanfattningsvis argumenterar jag för att nuvarande företagsekonomisk forskning kring CSR tillsammans med de aktuella bestämmelsernas juridiska innebörd innebär att såväl bolagsstyrelser som verkställande direktörer kan företa i princip vilken investering relaterad till CSR som helst. Aktieägare är i praktiken hänvisade till att söka åstadkomma långsiktigt lönsamma satsningar på hållbarhet genom sanktioner ex post, exempelvis genom att sälja sina aktier eller rösta bort styrelsen. Detta innebär å ena sidan i praktiken, med tanke på att nuvarande företagsekonomisk forskning kring CSR:s inverkan på bolags vinster är tvetydig, att de relevanta bestämmelserna i ABL såsom de nu är utformade utgör en trygg hamn även för många av de transaktioner relaterade till CSR som är direkt värdeförstörande. Å andra sidan argumenterar jag i uppsatsen för att problemet med överinvesteringar i CSR inte nödvändigtvis behöver vara särskilt utbrett då bolagen och deras bolagsstyrning allt mer kommit att präglas av kortsiktiga investeringsperspektiv.