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Benefits of Control, Capital Structure and Company Growth

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  • Mueller, Elisabeth

Abstract

This paper studies the influence of the private benefits of control on the capital structure and the growth of private companies. It is argued that companies in which existing owners would lose more control if they expanded, have smaller equity increases, are more highly levered and grow more slowly. The dataset covers 8,964 private UK companies with limited liability for up to 5 years. Potential loss of control is measured as the difference in the probability of winning a vote for the largest owner before and after a hypothetical equity increase. Consistent with the private benefits of control, the results show that companies with a high potential loss of control do indeed have smaller equity increases, use more debt and grow more slowly.

Suggested Citation

  • Mueller, Elisabeth, 2005. "Benefits of Control, Capital Structure and Company Growth," ZEW Discussion Papers 05-55, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:4281
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    Cited by:

    1. Mueller, Elisabeth & Zimmermann, Volker, 2006. "The Importance of Equity Finance for R&D Activity: Are There Differences Between Young and OldCompanies?," ZEW Discussion Papers 06-014, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Myriam hernández-Robles & F. Javier Sánchez Vidal, 2014. "Conservadurismo financiero y creación de empleo," Economic Analysis Working Papers (2002-2010). Atlantic Review of Economics (2011-2016), Colexio de Economistas de A Coruña, Spain and Fundación Una Galicia Moderna, vol. 2, pages 1-1, December.
    3. Nancy Huyghebaert & Linda Gucht & Cynthia Hulle, 2007. "The Choice between Bank Debt and Trace Credit in Business Start-ups," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 435-452, December.
    4. Cécile Carpentier & Jean-François L’Her & Jean-Marc Suret, 2012. "Seasoned equity offerings by small and medium-sized enterprises," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 449-465, May.
    5. Christina E. Bannier & Sabrina Zahn, 2014. "SMEs' Growth Heterogeneity - Evidence from Regional Developments," International Journal of Business Administration, International Journal of Business Administration, Sciedu Press, vol. 5(2), pages 23-49, March.
    6. Thomas Poulsen, 2013. "Corporate control and underinvestment," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(1), pages 131-155, February.
    7. Vaznyte, Egle & Andries, Petra, 2019. "Entrepreneurial orientation and start-ups' external financing," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 439-458.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    benefits of control; capital structure; company growth; small and medium-sized enterprises; entrepreneurship;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance

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