IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/indorg/v20y2002i8p1167-1195.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Takeover risk and the market for corporate control: the experience of British firms in the 1970s and 1980s

Author

Listed:
  • Dickerson, Andrew P.
  • Gibson, Heather D.
  • Tsakalotos, Euclid

Abstract

This paper investigates the determinants of takeovers in a large sample of UK quoted companies. We focus on the channels through which the market for corporate control monitors company performance and discretionary managerial behaviour. Our results indicate that the market for corporate control disciplines poorly performing companies, and that this effect is quantitatively important: a one standard deviation increase in profitability is associated with a fall in the conditional probability of takeover of over 20%. However, we find no evidence that firms without apparent profitable investment opportunities are more likely to be taken over if managers increase investment or reduce dividends, contrary to the predictions of the free cash-flow theory of takovers.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Dickerson, Andrew P. & Gibson, Heather D. & Tsakalotos, Euclid, 2002. "Takeover risk and the market for corporate control: the experience of British firms in the 1970s and 1980s," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 20(8), pages 1167-1195, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:20:y:2002:i:8:p:1167-1195
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167-7187(01)00073-X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Meyer, Bruce D, 1990. "Unemployment Insurance and Unemployment Spells," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(4), pages 757-782, July.
    2. Schnitzer, Monika, 1996. "Hostile versus Friendly Takeovers," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 63(249), pages 37-55, February.
    3. King, Mervyn A. & Fullerton, Don, 2010. "The Taxation of Income from Capital," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226436319, December.
    4. Mitchell, Mark L. & Mulherin, J. Harold, 1996. "The impact of industry shocks on takeover and restructuring activity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 193-229, June.
    5. Henry G. Manne, 1965. "Mergers and the Market for Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 73, pages 110-110.
    6. Lang, Larry H. P. & Stulz, ReneM. & Walkling, Ralph A., 1991. "A test of the free cash flow hypothesis*1: The case of bidder returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 315-335, October.
    7. Jenkins, Stephen P, 1995. "Easy Estimation Methods for Discrete-Time Duration Models," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 57(1), pages 129-138, February.
    8. Yakov Amihud & Baruch Lev, 1981. "Risk Reduction as a Managerial Motive for Conglomerate Mergers," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 12(2), pages 605-617, Autumn.
    9. Bergstrom, R & Edin, P-A, 1992. "Time Aggregation and the Distributional Shape of Unemployment Duration," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 7(1), pages 5-30, Jan.-Marc.
    10. Levine, Paul & Aaronovitch, Sam, 1981. "The Financial Characteristics of Firms and Theories of Merger Activity," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 149-172, December.
    11. Franks, Julian & Mayer, Colin, 1996. "Hostile takeovers and the correction of managerial failure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 163-181, January.
    12. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    13. Hasbrouck, Joel, 1985. "The characteristics of takeover targets and other measures," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 351-362, September.
    14. Thompson, Steve, 1997. "Takeover activity among financial mutuals: An analysis of target characteristics," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 37-53, January.
    15. Michael Gort, 1969. "An Economic Disturbance Theory of Mergers," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 83(4), pages 624-642.
    16. Machlin, Judith C & Choe, Hyuk & Miles, James A, 1993. "The Effects of Golden Parachutes on Takeover Activity," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(2), pages 861-876, October.
    17. Sanjai Bhagat & Andrei Shleifer & Robert W. Vishny, 1990. "Hostile Takeovers in the 1980s: The Return to Corporate Specialization," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 21(1990 Micr), pages 1-84.
    18. Smirlock, Michael & Gilligan, Thomas & Marshall, William, 1984. "Tobin's q and the Structure-Performance Relationship," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(5), pages 1051-1060, December.
    19. Schwartz, Steven, 1982. "Factors Affecting the Probability of Being Acquired: Evidence for the United States," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 92(366), pages 391-398, June.
    20. Lindenberg, Eric B & Ross, Stephen A, 1981. "Tobin's q Ratio and Industrial Organization," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(1), pages 1-32, January.
    21. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1988. "Value Maximization and the Acquisition Process," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 7-20, Winter.
    22. Jensen, Michael C. & Ruback, Richard S., 1983. "The market for corporate control : The scientific evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1-4), pages 5-50, April.
    23. Roll, Richard, 1986. "The Hubris Hypothesis of Corporate Takeovers," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(2), pages 197-216, April.
    24. Miller, Merton H & Rock, Kevin, 1985. "Dividend Policy under Asymmetric Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1031-1051, September.
    25. Scherer, F M, 1988. "Corporate Takeovers: The Efficiency Arguments," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 69-82, Winter.
    26. Andrew P. Dickerson & Heather D. Gibson & Euclid Tsakalotos, 1998. "Takeover Risk and Dividend Strategy: A Study of UK Firms," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 281-300, September.
    27. Dolton, Peter J & van der Klaauw, Wilbert, 1995. "Leaving Teaching in the UK: A Duration Analysis," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 105(429), pages 431-444, March.
    28. Henry G. Manne, 1965. "Mergers and the Market for Corporate Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 73, pages 351-351.
    29. Lang, Larry H. P. & Stulz, ReneM. & Walkling, Ralph A., 1989. "Managerial performance, Tobin's Q, and the gains from successful tender offers," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 137-154, September.
    30. Easterbrook, Frank H, 1984. "Two Agency-Cost Explanations of Dividends," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(4), pages 650-659, September.
    31. Sanford J. Grossman & Oliver D. Hart, 1980. "Takeover Bids, the Free-Rider Problem, and the Theory of the Corporation," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 11(1), pages 42-64, Spring.
    32. Eberly, Janice C., 1997. "International evidence on investment and fundamentals," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(6), pages 1055-1078, June.
    33. Andrew P. Dickerson & Heather D. Gibson & Euclid Tsakalotos, 1997. "Deterring Takeover: Evidence from a Large Panel of UK Firms," Studies in Economics 9707, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    34. Denis, David J. & Denis, Diane K. & Sarin, Atulya, 1994. "The Information Content of Dividend Changes: Cash Flow Signaling, Overinvestment, and Dividend Clienteles," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 29(4), pages 567-587, December.
    35. Lancaster, Tony, 1979. "Econometric Methods for the Duration of Unemployment," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(4), pages 939-956, July.
    36. John, Kose & Williams, Joseph, 1985. "Dividends, Dilution, and Taxes: A Signalling Equilibrium," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 40(4), pages 1053-1070, September.
    37. Dennis C. Mueller, 1969. "A Theory of Conglomerate Mergers," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 83(4), pages 643-659.
    38. Jarrell, Gregg A & Brickley, James A & Netter, Jeffry M, 1988. "The Market for Corporate Control: The Empirical Evidence Since 1980," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 49-68, Winter.
    39. Palepu, Krishna G., 1986. "Predicting takeover targets : A methodological and empirical analysis," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 3-35, March.
    40. Jensen, Michael C, 1988. "Takeovers: Their Causes and Consequences," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 21-48, Winter.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Driver, Ciaran & Grosman, Anna & Scaramozzino, Pasquale, 2020. "Dividend policy and investor pressure," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 559-576.
    2. Panayotis Kapopoulos & Sophia Lazaretou, 2007. "Corporate Ownership Structure and Firm Performance: evidence from Greek firms," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(2), pages 144-158, March.
    3. Athanasios Tsagkanos & Antonios Georgopoulos & Costas Siriopoulos & Evangelos Koumanakos, 2008. "Identification of Greek Takeover Targets and Coherent Policy Implications," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(1), pages 180-192, February.
    4. Heather D. Gibson & Euclid Tsakalotos, 2004. "Capital flows and speculative attacks in prospective EU member states," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 12(3), pages 559-586, September.
    5. Heather D. Gibson & Euclid Tsakalotos, 2005. "EU Enlargement, ERM II and Lessons from the Southern European countries," South-Eastern Europe Journal of Economics, Association of Economic Universities of South and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region, vol. 3(1), pages 41-78.
    6. Robin Nuttall, 1999. "An Empirical Analysis of the Effects of the Threat of Takeover on UK Company Performance," Economics Series Working Papers 1999-W05, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    7. Burns, Natasha & Jindra, Jan & Minnick, Kristina, 2017. "Sales of private firms and the role of CEO compensation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 444-463.
    8. Kastrinaki, Zafeira & Stoneman, Paul, 2012. "The drivers of merger waves," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 117(2), pages 493-495.
    9. Ali-Yrkkö, Jyrki, . "Essays on the Impacts of Technology Development and R&D Subsidies," ETLA A, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, number 43.
    10. Andy Cosh & Alan Hughes, 2008. "Takeovers after "Takeovers"," Working Papers wp363, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    11. Eleni Angelopoulou & Heather D. Gibson, 2007. "The Balance Sheet Channel of Monetary Policy Transmission: Evidence from the UK," Working Papers 53, Bank of Greece.
    12. Robin Nuttall, 1999. "Takeover Likelihood Models for UK Quoted Companies," Economics Series Working Papers 1999-W06, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Martynova, M., 2006. "The market for corporate control and corporate governance regulation in Europe," Other publications TiSEM 8651e281-4914-41f2-ac14-1, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    2. Martynova, M. & Renneboog, L.D.R., 2005. "Takeover Waves : Triggers, Performance and Motives," Discussion Paper 2005-107, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    3. Martynova, Marina & Renneboog, Luc, 2008. "A century of corporate takeovers: What have we learned and where do we stand?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(10), pages 2148-2177, October.
    4. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "A Survey of Corporate Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(2), pages 737-783, June.
    5. Athanasios Tsagkanos & Antonios Georgopoulos & Costas Siriopoulos & Evangelos Koumanakos, 2008. "Identification of Greek Takeover Targets and Coherent Policy Implications," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(1), pages 180-192, February.
    6. Ana I. Fernández & Silvia Gómez-Ansón, 1999. "Un estudio de las Ofertas Públicas de Adquisición en el mercado de valores español," Investigaciones Economicas, Fundación SEPI, vol. 23(3), pages 471-495, September.
    7. Andrey Golubov & Dimitris Petmezas & Nickolaos G. Travlos, 2013. "Empirical mergers and acquisitions research: a review of methods, evidence and managerial implications," Chapters, in: Adrian R. Bell & Chris Brooks & Marcel Prokopczuk (ed.), Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Empirical Finance, chapter 12, pages 287-313, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    8. Utz Weitzel & Killian J. McCarthy, 2011. "Theory and evidence on mergers and acquisitions by small and medium enterprises," International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 14(2/3), pages 248-275.
    9. Gunther Tichy, 2001. "What Do We Know about Success and Failure of Mergers?," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 1(4), pages 347-394, December.
    10. Ly, Kim Cuong & Liu, Hong & Opong, Kwaku, 2017. "Who acquires whom among stand-alone commercial banks and bank holding company affiliates?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 144-158.
    11. Martynova, M. & Renneboog, L.D.R., 2006. "Mergers and Acquisitions in Europe," Other publications TiSEM 531d24e9-4f1e-4df3-80db-d, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    12. Martynova, M. & Renneboog, L.D.R., 2006. "The Performance of the European Market for Corporate Control : Evidence from the 5th Takeover Wave," Discussion Paper 2006-118, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    13. Emery A. Trahan & Hany A. Shawky, 1992. "Financial Characteristics Of Acquiring Firms: An Industry Specific Approach," Review of Financial Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 1(2), pages 81-94, March.
    14. Andrew P. Dickerson & Heather D. Gibson & Euclid Tsakalotos, 2003. "Is attack the best form of defence? A competing risks analysis of acquisition activity in the UK," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 27(3), pages 337-357, May.
    15. Gao, Ning, 2015. "The motives of cash reserve and bidder cash reserve effects," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 73-88.
    16. Song, Moon H. & Walkling, Ralph A., 2005. "Anticipation, Acquisitions and Bidder Returns," Working Paper Series 2005-11, Ohio State University, Charles A. Dice Center for Research in Financial Economics.
    17. Basnet, Anup & Davis, Frederick & Walker, Thomas & Zhao, Kun, 2021. "The effect of securities class action lawsuits on mergers and acquisitions," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    18. Jyrki Ali-Yrkko & Ari Hyytinen & Mika Pajarinen, 2005. "Does patenting increase the probability of being acquired? Evidence from cross-border and domestic acquisitions," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(14), pages 1007-1017.
    19. Nenova, Tatiana, 2006. "Takeover laws and financial development," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4029, The World Bank.
    20. Matt Glendening & Inder K. Khurana & Wei Wang, 2016. "The market for corporate control and dividend policies: Cross-country evidence from M&A laws," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(9), pages 1106-1134, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance
    • C41 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Duration Analysis; Optimal Timing Strategies

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:20:y:2002:i:8:p:1167-1195. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505551 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.