This research has investigated the long-run performance of corporate restructurings through unbundling transactions on the JSE between 2000 and 2012. The corporate unbundling transactions considered by the research are spin-offs and sell-offs. From the two unbundling transactions, four samples were derived, that is, 21 spin-offs, 14 parent-spin-offs, 14 sell-offs and 20 parent-sell-offs. The share price performance of these samples was investigated by a matching firm methodology under the buy and hold abnormal returns. The research found that positive abnormal returns are present for both samples for up to four years after unbundling. Secondly, with the exception of parent-sell-offs, significant abnormal returns were experienced by both samples for up to four years after unbundling. It was also found that a spin-off is a preferable corporate unbundling strategy to a sell-off over a long-run period. This research implies that companies with heavy structures should unbundle in order to unlock shareholders’ value. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

The purpose of this diploma thesis is to use relevant economic knowledge for the analysis of the key legal aspects of the natural monopoly, particularly the main theoretical aspects thereto. The interpretation is not limited to principle features, however, it covers also the related issues. The text is focused mainly on electricity and gas industries. Apart from applicable law and legal books, the relevant case law of the Constitutional Court and Supreme Administrative Court of Czech Republic has been also a significant source of knowledge hereto. The European Union legal regulations and expert opinions of the European Commission have been taken into account as well. The diploma thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter is focused on economic aspects of the applicable law. It provides thorough overview concerning the model and its introduction into reviewed fields. The principal information, historical background and view of the critics are introduced. This chapter also labels the entities under the Czech law that are considered to be the natural monopolies. Furthermore, three basic fields of legal institutes that are subject to subsequent review are outlined. The second chapter defines elementary terms relevant for further research. Specifically, it covers the distribution,...

Since long the energy policy has been escaping the concept of the common European policies or has been only partially influenced through the harmonisation of other common policies. If energy sector was considered an exclusive competence of every State Member (or as a part of its national security), nowadays, it has made a big step forward. At present, we talk about the establishment of a competitive internal energy market. The energy policy became part of the Community law only after the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty when the sector was granted a separate chapter and henceforth decided upon through a co-decisional procedure. The energy markets were subsequently given a new liberalisation impetus by the approval of the 3rd energy package (July 2009). My thesis focuses entirely on the natural gas sector and its crucial amendment to the network sector regulations. The core subject of the Directive 2009/73/EC concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas is the ownership unbundling regime which stipulates the separation of production and sale operations from their transmission networks. This separation from the former vertically integrated utilities is supposed to guarantee an equal and non-discriminatory access to the transmission networks. Even though the ownership unbundling regime...

Diplomová práce se zaměřuje na kritické zhodnocení současné energetické politiky Evropské Unie a její dopady na účastníky trhu s energetickými komoditami, především s důrazem na energetické společnosti a koncové spotřebitele.