Sky Blog
M&A activity in June 2018 weakened from last month across most measures, although still generally strong for the first half of the year. The total number of deals decreased in the U.S. by 28.6% to 528 (the lowest level since …
A fundamental question in corporate finance is how mergers and acquisitions create value. Possibilities include generating economies of scale or scope, increasing managerial efficiency, improving production techniques, or strengthening market power. Synergies are a leading motive for doing mergers, but …
In a new cross-nation study, we discuss our findings on how the takeover market affects stock-price crash risk, defined as the likelihood of a sudden, drastic decline in the stock price of a firm. An important consideration for risk management …
There are now more than twice as many entities formed in Delaware as LLCs and other alternative entities as are formed as corporations. Private equity funds and hedge funds often are formed as LLCs or limited partnerships to take advantage …
M&A activity in May 2018 generally weakened from the prior month. The total number of deals decreased in the U.S. by 1.2% to 667 (the second-lowest level in the last 12-month period) and globally by 4.8% to 2,759 (the lowest …
The chief executive officer (CEO) and the top management team are typically viewed as critical to the success or failure of companies. As it is not uncommon for top executives to make value-destroying decisions, the role of internal control mechanisms, …
On May 29, 2018, the Department of Justice announced the largest-ever antitrust divestiture in the U.S. in connection with Bayer’s takeover of Monsanto. In addition to being newsworthy in light of its sheer size (at approximately $9 billion), the remedy …
The issue of directors serving on multiple corporate boards has come under increasing scrutiny from both academicians and practitioners. There are two types of arguments associated with the conflicting evidence of how multiple directorships affect firm value and performance. The …
M&A activity in April 2018, as measured by number of deals, dipped from March 2018 levels in the U.S. and globally across every metric. The total number of deals decreased by 15.2% to 669 in the U.S. and 9.7% to …
Directors frequently hold multiple board seats, simultaneously lending their expertise to the boards of multiple firms. Director “busyness” is often thought to be detrimental to firm performance, as it leaves directors with insufficient time to devote to their duties at …
Prior research has documented the existence of disclosure externalities, or information spillovers, between firms in a number of different settings. The idea is that when two firms are economically related, public disclosures by one firm can affect the stock price …
In mergers and acquisitions (M&A), one of the trickiest tasks is assessing the value of the company to be purchased or sold. While in some cases buyers and sellers come easily to an agreement, in others the information asymmetry between …
In 2010, Roger Carr, then-chairman of British confectionery Cadbury, waged a grueling five-month battle before losing control of the company to Kraft Foods. “At the end of the day,” he said, “there were simply not enough shareholders prepared to take …
M&A activity gained momentum in March 2018, capping the strongest opening quarter in the history of this publication. In the U.S., deal volume returned to January levels, increasing by 109.6% to $174.10 billion, and the number of deals increased by …
VMware’s shareholders enjoyed gains of nearly 60 percent in 2017 as the company positioned itself as an appealing play on cloud computing with substantial growth potential and partnerships with industry leaders like Amazon Web Services. Indeed, in its most recent …
On April 20, 2018, Columbia Law School will hold its 2018 Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Governance Conference at Convene in midtown Manhattan. The event is co-sponsored by the law firms Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & …
The winds of change will shortly sweep across the data privacy landscape in the European Union (“E.U.”) and the gale will be felt worldwide. The European General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) will come into force on …
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced proposals to tighten its jurisdiction over mergers in the military, quantum technology and computing hardware industries. The changes, which are subject to a consultation period through April 12, 2018, would lower …
Despite an increase in M&A activity over the past three months, deal trends in February 2018 retreated towards their 12-month averages, following banner months in November and December, both of which featured some of the largest deals we have seen …
