Corporate Governance and Merger Activity in the U.S.: Making Sense of the 1980s and 1990s / Bengt Holmstrom, Steven N. Kaplan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Holmstrom, Bengt.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Kaplan, Steven N.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w8220.

NBER working paper series no. w8220

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Corporate Governance and Merger Activity in the U.S

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2001.

Summary:

This paper describes and considers explanations for changes in corporate governance and merger activity in the United States since 1980. Corporate governance in the 1980s was dominated by intense merger activity distinguished by the prevalence of leveraged buyouts (LBOs) and hostility. After a brief decline in the early 1990s, substantial merger activity resumed in the second half of the decade, while LBOs and hostility did not. Instead, internal corporate governance mechanisms appear to have played a larger role in the 1990s. We conclude by considering whether these changes and the movement toward shareholder value are likely to be permanent.

Notes:

Print version record

April 2001.