Agency, Bid Resistance and the Market for Corporate Control

In this paper we investigate the effects of post-bid defence activity for a sample of takeover bids in the UK. We find that most of the defences investigated promote the interests of target managers by significantly lowering the probability of bid success. We also find that most of the defences promote the interests of shareholders by increasing wealth gains by an amount that varies between 9% and 14%. These results suggest that bid resistance is to the mutual benefit of the managers and shareholders of target firms. This conclusion is in line with recent developments in agency theory.     

The determinants and effects of actual,abandoned and contested mergers

This paper reports the results of research aimed at exploring why some takeover bids give rise to merger while other do not and, using as a basis of comparison matched samples of actual and abandoned mergers, the performance effects of mergers. In this work, 50 cases of abandoned mergers occurring between 1965 and 1975 were analysed against a matched sample of 50 actual mergers. In addition, 33 cases of contested bids were also analysed. Variables used reflected managerial, shareholder and financial strength considerations. Analysis covered a period three years before to three years after each bid. Techniques of analysis were differences of means and discriminant analysis. The results show that there are important differences between target companies that are acquired and those that successfully resist takeover bids. They also show the influence of managerial and financial variables as the key to a successful takeover bid rather than variables reflecting shareholder interests. Analysis of the effects of the outcome of the bids suggests that companies involved in abandoned mergers recorded a stronger performance over the subsequent 1–3 years than those that made acquisitions, especially where shareholder and financial considerations are concerned. Target companies that resisted takeover bids showed a significant performance improvement.     

Malawi: Impfungen retten Kinderleben

Im kleinen südostafrikanischen Land Malawi sind neben Malaria und Durchfallerkrankungen Pneumonien der gro?e Killer für kleine Kinder. Die Einführung des Pneumokokken-Impfstoffes k?nnte zahlreiche Leben retten. Pflegekr?fte spielen eine wichtige Rolle in dieser Versorgungskette.     

Pflanzliche Östrogene: Frei von Nebenwirkungen?

Zusammenfasung  „Natürlich“ gegen Wechseljahres-Beschwerden — Auch Krankenschwestern kommen in das Klimakterium und stehen wie viele andere Frauen vor der Frage: Was tun, um die damit verbundenen Symptome zu lindern? Bieten pflanzliche ?strogene wirklich Hilfe in „hitzigen Zeiten“?     

Unions, Safety Committees and Workplace Injuries

This paper exploits the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey from 1990 (WIRS3) to examine the determinants of workplace injuries for a sample of manufacturing establishments in the UK. A key focus of this paper is an assessment of the role played by union-appointed safety representatives and joint health and safety consultative committees in reducing the frequency of workplace accidents. We find that joint consultative committees, with all employee representatives appointed by unions, significantly reduce workplace injuries relative to those establishments where the management alone determine health and safety arrangements. However, an important role is also found for those joint consultative commitees where no employee representatives are appointed by unions.     

The Determinants of Outcome in UK Take–over Bids

In this paper we have investigated the determinants of the outcome of 238 friendly and hostile take–over bids that occurred in the UK during the 1980s. We also use our model for prediction purposes and in order to map the effects of a variety of independent variables on the probability of the bid being successful. Our main results can be summarised as follows. First, target management resistance and the wealth effect of a bid are key determinants of the outcome of a bid. Second, we find limited evidence to suggest that share ownership by the bidding company and by target directors also contributes significantly to bid outcome. In the latter case we find a non–linear relationship consistent with the argument that when director holdings are low the bid is discouraged but when they are high the bid is encouraged. Third, our model is good at predicting outcome for all bids but weak at predicting the outcome of hostile bids on their own.     

Zum Wohle der Volksvertreter

Arbeiten im Bundestag - Im deutschen Bundestag behandeln eine Parlaments?rztin und drei Pflegekr?fte Abgeordnete, Mitarbeiter und Besucher. Für etliche Bundestagsabgeordnete mit chronischen Leiden ist die Praxis im Bundestag l?ngst „ihre Hausarztpraxis“.     

Takeovers and other influences on economic performance: a plant level analysis

The results of an empirical investigation into the effects of takeovers and other variables on corporate performance is reported. Our sample of 972 establishments is taken from the Workplace Industrial Relations Survey, 1984in which the plant is the unit of investigation and the assessment of performance is made by mangers. Using logit analysis we find that the main determinansts of relative financial performance are avoidance of takeover and strength of market position. The main determinants of growth of sales are profitability, change of ownership, smaller size and lack of market dominance. In these results we find support at the plant level for views on the effects of mergers, market dominance and the determinants of growth that have traditionally been demonstrated at the level of the firm.