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Ownership Structure and Debt Leverage: Empirical Test of a Trade-Off Hypothesis on French Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Hubert de La Bruslerie

    (DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Imen Latrous

Abstract

Debt may help to manage type II corporate agency conflicts because it is easier for controlling shareholders to modify the leverage ratio than to modify their share of capital. A sample of 112 firms listed on the French stock market over the period 1998-2009 is empirically tested. It supports an inverted U-shape relationship between shareholders' ownership and leverage. At low levels of ownership, controlling shareholders use more debt in order to inflate their stake in capital and to resist unfriendly takeovers attempts. When ownership reaches a certain point, controlling shareholders' objectives further converge with those of outside shareholders. Moreover, financial distress will prompt controlling shareholders to reduce the firm's leverage ratio. Empirically, it is shown that the inflection point where the sign of the relationship between ownership and debt changes is around 40%. Debts may help in curbing private appropriation and appears also as a governance variable.

Suggested Citation

  • Hubert de La Bruslerie & Imen Latrous, 2012. "Ownership Structure and Debt Leverage: Empirical Test of a Trade-Off Hypothesis on French Firms," Post-Print hal-01492193, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01492193
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    Cited by:

    1. Hariem Abdullah & Turgut Tursoy, 2021. "Capital structure and firm performance: evidence of Germany under IFRS adoption," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 379-398, February.
    2. Irene Wei Kiong Ting & Hooi Hooi Lean & Qian Long Kweh & Noor Azlinna Azizan, 2016. "Managerial overconfidence, government intervention and corporate financing decision," International Journal of Managerial Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 12(1), pages 4-24, February.
    3. repec:prg:jnlpep:v:preprint:id:515:p:1-16 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Yung, Kenneth & Jian, Yi, 2017. "Effects of the shareholder base on firm behavior and firm value in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 370-385.
    5. Manpreet Kaur Khurana & Muhammad Shahin Miah & Shweta Sharma, 2025. "Financial Decision-Making Beyond Economic Considerations: A Strategic View for Family Firms in India," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-22, August.
    6. Joachim Rojahn & Florian Zechser, 2022. "Ownership concentration, ownership identity and seasoned equity offerings probabilities: Evidence from Germany," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(1-2), pages 274-296, January.
    7. Qian Long Kweh & Irene Wei Kiong Ting & Hanh Thi My Le & Mohammad Nourani, 2021. "Nonlinear impacts of board independence on debt financing: Contingent on the shareholdings of the largest shareholder," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 2289-2306, April.
    8. Vu Tuan Chu & Trang Hanh Lam Pham, 2021. "Zero leverage and product market competition," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(4), pages 1-18, April.
    9. Amin, Qazi Awais & Liu, Jia, 2020. "Shareholders' control rights, family ownership and the firm's leverage decisions," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    10. Le, Thi Phuong Vy & Phan, Thi Bich Nguyet, 2017. "Capital structure and firm performance: Empirical evidence from a small transition country," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 710-726.
    11. Thi Phuong Vy Le & Kathy Tannous, 2016. "Ownership Structure and Capital Structure: A Study of Vietnamese Listed Firms," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 319-344, December.
    12. Muhammad Akhtar & Kong Yusheng & Muhammad Haris & Qurat Ul Ain & Hafiz Mustansar Javaid, 2022. "Impact of financial leverage on sustainable growth, market performance, and profitability," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 55(2), pages 737-774, May.
    13. Zarina Abdul Salam & Roghayeh Shourkashti, 2019. "Capital Structure and Firm Performance in Emerging Market: An Empirical Analysis of Malaysian Companies," International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Accounting, Finance and Management Sciences, vol. 9(3), pages 70-82, July.
    14. Mário Santos & António Moreira & Elisabete Vieira, 2014. "Ownership concentration, contestability, family firms, and capital structure," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 18(4), pages 1063-1107, November.
    15. Zeitun, Rami & Goaied, Mohamed, 2021. "The nonlinear effect of foreign ownership on capital structure in Japan: A panel threshold analysis," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    16. Lo, Huai-Chun & Ting, Irene Wei Kiong & Kweh, Qian Long & Yang, Ming Jing, 2016. "Nonlinear association between ownership concentration and leverage: The role of family control," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 113-123.
    17. Růčková Petra & Heryán Tomáš, 2015. "The Capital Structure Management in Companies of Selected Business Branches of Building in Conditions of the Czech Republic," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2015(6), pages 699-714.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance
    • 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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