Holders of large blocks of a company’s shares are pervasive in developed economies. La Porta et al. (1999) find that only 17 percent of large firms in countries with strong shareholder protection qualify as widely-held, and Holderness (2009) shows that 96 percent of large U.S. firms have blockholders who own at least 5 percent of a company’s stock. Blockholders  influence corporate policies in many ways, with voting being arguably the most important, as it empowers shareholders to elect directors, approve major corporate transactions, and decide on governance issues. Since voting rights and dividend rights are bundled together in shares, blockholders’ … Read more