Fifth Annual Mergers and Acquisitions Research Centre Conference
- 28 - 29 June 2021
- •
- Online
Fifth Annual Mergers and Acquisitions Research Centre Conference
Monday, 28 June 2021 | 12:00 – 16:00 BST (13:00 – 17:00 CEST)
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 | 12:00 – 16:00 BST (13:00 – 17:00 CEST)
Organised by
Scott Moeller (M&A Research Centre, City, University of London)
Anh Tran (City, University of London)
Paolo Volpin (City, University of London and ECGI)
Since 2016, the annual MARC conference has brought together cutting-edge research and practice on M&A by leading professors and industry experts around the world. Topics span a broad array of issues related to M&A such as deal structure from financing to integration, activism, regulatory changes, domestic and cross border transactions and corporate social responsibility among others. The conference was held in cooperation with the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI). We are honoured to have many world-leading academic experts in the field of M&A serving in our programme committee.
The MARC conference is among the most selective high-quality conferences in the field. The papers presented at the conference are at the forefront of knowledge and of high academic rigour, as evidenced by a high acceptance rate in the top three academic journals in accounting and finance. As of January 2021, four out of eight papers presented at the first conference in 2016 have been published in the Journal of Finance and the Review of Financial Studies. Four out of seven papers presented at the second conference in 2017 have been published in the Journal of Financial Economics, the Review of Financial Studies, and the Journal of Accounting Research.
Monday, 28 June 2021 | 12:00 BST (13:00 CEST)
Welcome and Introduction
Speakers:
Session 1: Chaired by
Speakers:
Hiring high-skilled labor through mergers and acquisitions
Speakers:
Discussant:
Hiring high-skilled labor through mergers and acquisitions
Authors:
Shenje Hshieh (City University of Hong Kong), Feng Zhang (University of Utah) and Jun Chen (Renmin University)
Speakers
Discussants
Conference Documents
Say Pays! Shareholder Voice and Firm Performance
This paper estimates the effects of Say-on-Pay (SoP); a policy that increases shareholder ?voice? by providing shareholders with a regular vote on...
Read more
The Systemic Governance Influence of Universal Owners: Evidence From an Expectation Document
We examine expectation documents’ effectiveness as an activism tool. We use as a natural experiment, the unforeseen release by the Norwegian...
Read more
Price and Probability: Decomposing the Takeover Effects of Anti-Takeover Provisions
This paper studies the effects of anti-takeover provisions on takeovers and identifies the channels through which they create or destroy value for...
Read more
Managerial Response to Shareholder Empowerment: Evidence from Majority Voting Legislation Changes
This paper studies how managers react to shareholder empowerment vis-à-vis governance provisions. We show that a staggered legislative change that...
Read moreSecurity design for the acquisition of private firms
Authors:
Thomas Noe (University of Oxford), Mark Jansen (University of Utah) and Ludovic Phalippou (University of Oxford)
Speakers
Discussants
Conference Documents
Borrow Cheap, Buy High? The Determinants of Leverage and Pricing in Buyouts
Private equity funds pay particular attention to capital structure when executing leveraged buyouts, creating an interesting setting for examining...
Read more
Blood and Money: Kin altruism, governance, and inheritance inthe family firm
This paper develops a theory of governance and inheritance within family firms based on kin altruism (Hamilton, 1964). Family members weigh the payoffs...
Read moreBreak
Session 2: Chaired by
Speakers:
Acquisitions and CEO compensation changes
Authors:
David Denis (University of Pittsburgh) and Leonce Bargeron (University of Kentucky)
Speakers
Discussants
Does It Pay to Go Global in the Boardroom? The Effect of Foreign Directors on Corporate Governance and Performance
We examine the benefits and costs associated with foreign independent directors (FIDs) at U.S. corporations. We find that firms with FIDs make better...
Read more
Employee-Manager Alliances and Shareholder Returns from Acquisitions
We examine the potential for management-worker alliances when employees have substantial voting rights, and how such alliances affect the balance of...
Read more
Common Business Group Affiliation, Media Reporting, and Firm Real Effects
We examine whether common business group affiliation affects media reporting on firms and whether firms experience any real effects as a result. We find...
Read more
Directors: Older and Wiser, or Too Old to Govern?
An unintended consequence of recent governance reforms in the U.S. is firms’ greater reliance on older director candidates, resulting in noticeable...
Read more
The Dark Side of Industry Tournament Incentives
We find that firms whose CEOs face stronger industry tournament incentives, measured by their pay gap relative to the highest industry CEO pay, engage in...
Read more
Trust, Incomplete Contracting, and Corporate Innovation
Innovation is a contract intensive economic activity in a world of incomplete contracts. We show that trust mitigates incomplete contracting and...
Read moreAre managers listening to Twitter? Evidence from Mergers & Acquisitions
Speakers:
Discussant:
Are managers listening to Twitter? Evidence from Mergers & Acquisitions
Speakers
Discussants
Conference Documents
Private Equity in the Hospital Industry
We examine the survival, profitability, and employment profiles of private equity (PE) acquired hospitals. Target hospitals sustain their survival...
Read more
Activism and Empire Building
Hedge fund activists target firms engaging in empire building and improve their future acquisition and divestiture strategy. Following...
Read moreClosing Remarks
Speakers:
Tuesday, 29 June 2021 | 12:00 BST (13:00 CEST)
Welcome and Introduction
Speakers:
Session 3: Chaired by
Speakers:
Keynote: ‘Corporate M&A: A proven value-creation strategy’
Speakers:
Keynote: ‘Corporate M&A: A proven value-creation strategy’
Speakers
EPS-Sensitivity and Mergers
Authors:
Fangyuan Ma (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Sudipto Dasgupta (Chinese University of Hong Kong) and Jarrad Harford (University of Washington)
Speakers
Discussants
Conference Documents
Break
Session 4: Chaired by
Speakers:
Real effects of stock market valuations: Local valuation spillovers in M&A activity
Speakers:
Discussant:
Real effects of stock market valuations: Local valuation spillovers in M&A activity
Authors:
Anjana Rajamani (Erasmus University) and Frederik Schlingemann (University of Pittsburgh)
Speakers
Discussants
Conference Documents
Why Have CEO Pay Levels Become Less Diverse?
We document that the cross-sectional variation in CEO pay levels has declined precipitously, both at the economy level and within industry and size...
Read more
How do equity analysts impact takeovers?
Authors:
Tingting Liu (Iowa State University), Eliezer Fich (Drexel University) and Micah S. Officer (Loyola Marymount University)
Speakers
Discussants
Conference Documents
Vote Avoidance and Shareholder Voting in Mergers and Acquisitions
We examine whether, how, and why acquirer shareholder voting matters. We show that acquirers with low institutional ownership, high deal risk, and high...
Read moreClosing Remarks
Speakers:
Speakers
Presentations
Welcome and Introduction
Welcome and Introduction
Speakers
Session 1: Chaired by
Session 1: Chaired by
Speakers
Hiring high-skilled labor through mergers and acquisitions
Hiring high-skilled labor through mergers and acquisitions
Authors:
Shenje Hshieh (City University of Hong Kong), Feng Zhang (University of Utah) and Jun Chen (Renmin University)
Speakers
Discussants
Conference Documents
Managerial Response to Shareholder Empowerment: Evidence from Majority Voting Legislation Changes
This paper studies how managers react to shareholder empowerment vis-à-vis governance provisions. We show that a staggered legislative change that...
Read more
The Systemic Governance Influence of Universal Owners: Evidence From an Expectation Document
We examine expectation documents’ effectiveness as an activism tool. We use as a natural experiment, the unforeseen release by the Norwegian...
Read more
Price and Probability: Decomposing the Takeover Effects of Anti-Takeover Provisions
This paper studies the effects of anti-takeover provisions on takeovers and identifies the channels through which they create or destroy value for...
Read moreSay Pays! Shareholder Voice and Firm Performance
This paper estimates the effects of Say-on-Pay (SoP); a policy that increases shareholder ?voice? by providing shareholders with a regular vote on...
Read moreSecurity design for the acquisition of private firms
Security design for the acquisition of private firms
Authors:
Thomas Noe (University of Oxford), Mark Jansen (University of Utah) and Ludovic Phalippou (University of Oxford)
Speakers
Discussants
Conference Documents
Blood and Money: Kin altruism, governance, and inheritance inthe family firm
This paper develops a theory of governance and inheritance within family firms based on kin altruism (Hamilton, 1964). Family members weigh the payoffs...
Read more
Borrow Cheap, Buy High? The Determinants of Leverage and Pricing in Buyouts
Private equity funds pay particular attention to capital structure when executing leveraged buyouts, creating an interesting setting for examining...
Read moreAcquisitions and CEO compensation changes
Acquisitions and CEO compensation changes
Authors:
David Denis (University of Pittsburgh) and Leonce Bargeron (University of Kentucky)
Speakers
Discussants
Directors: Older and Wiser, or Too Old to Govern?
An unintended consequence of recent governance reforms in the U.S. is firms’ greater reliance on older director candidates, resulting in noticeable...
Read more
Employee-Manager Alliances and Shareholder Returns from Acquisitions
We examine the potential for management-worker alliances when employees have substantial voting rights, and how such alliances affect the balance of...
Read more
Common Business Group Affiliation, Media Reporting, and Firm Real Effects
We examine whether common business group affiliation affects media reporting on firms and whether firms experience any real effects as a result. We find...
Read more
Does It Pay to Go Global in the Boardroom? The Effect of Foreign Directors on Corporate Governance and Performance
We examine the benefits and costs associated with foreign independent directors (FIDs) at U.S. corporations. We find that firms with FIDs make better...
Read more
The Dark Side of Industry Tournament Incentives
We find that firms whose CEOs face stronger industry tournament incentives, measured by their pay gap relative to the highest industry CEO pay, engage in...
Read more
Trust, Incomplete Contracting, and Corporate Innovation
Innovation is a contract intensive economic activity in a world of incomplete contracts. We show that trust mitigates incomplete contracting and...
Read moreAre managers listening to Twitter? Evidence from Mergers & Acquisitions
Are managers listening to Twitter? Evidence from Mergers & Acquisitions
Speakers
Discussants
Conference Documents
Activism and Empire Building
Hedge fund activists target firms engaging in empire building and improve their future acquisition and divestiture strategy. Following...
Read more
Private Equity in the Hospital Industry
We examine the survival, profitability, and employment profiles of private equity (PE) acquired hospitals. Target hospitals sustain their survival...
Read moreWelcome and Introduction
Welcome and Introduction
Speakers
Session 3: Chaired by
Session 3: Chaired by
Speakers
Keynote: ‘Corporate M&A: A proven value-creation strategy’
Keynote: ‘Corporate M&A: A proven value-creation strategy’
Speakers
EPS-Sensitivity and Mergers
EPS-Sensitivity and Mergers
Authors:
Fangyuan Ma (Chinese University of Hong Kong), Sudipto Dasgupta (Chinese University of Hong Kong) and Jarrad Harford (University of Washington)
Speakers
Discussants
Conference Documents
Session 4: Chaired by
Session 4: Chaired by
Speakers
Real effects of stock market valuations: Local valuation spillovers in M&A activity
Real effects of stock market valuations: Local valuation spillovers in M&A activity
Authors:
Anjana Rajamani (Erasmus University) and Frederik Schlingemann (University of Pittsburgh)
Speakers
Discussants
Conference Documents
Why Have CEO Pay Levels Become Less Diverse?
We document that the cross-sectional variation in CEO pay levels has declined precipitously, both at the economy level and within industry and size...
Read moreHow do equity analysts impact takeovers?
How do equity analysts impact takeovers?
Authors:
Tingting Liu (Iowa State University), Eliezer Fich (Drexel University) and Micah S. Officer (Loyola Marymount University)
Speakers
Discussants
Conference Documents
Vote Avoidance and Shareholder Voting in Mergers and Acquisitions
We examine whether, how, and why acquirer shareholder voting matters. We show that acquirers with low institutional ownership, high deal risk, and high...
Read moreClosing Remarks
Closing Remarks
Speakers
Competition for Managers and Corporate Governance
Separation between CEO and Chairman of the Board is typically viewed as evidence of good corporate governance. Surprisingly, the literature has failed...
Read more
Corporate Governance Externalities
When firms compete in the managerial labor market, the choice of corporate governance by a firm affects, and is affected by, the choice of governance by...
Read more
Seeking Alpha: Excess Risk Taking and Competition for Managerial Talent
We present a model where firms compete for scarce managerial talent ("alpha") and managers are risk-averse. When managers cannot move across firms...
Read more
The Corporate Governance of Defined Benefit Pension Plans: Evidence from the United Kingdom
This paper studies the governance of defined-benefit pension plans in the United Kingdom. We construct a governance measure, equal to the proportion of...
Read more