Corporate Restructuring

We show that during the 1997 Korean financial crisis, chaebol firms with higher ownership concentration by unaffiliated investors experience a smaller reduction in their share value. Firms with higher disclosure quality and alternative sources of external financing also suffer less. In contrast, chaebol firms with concentrated ownership by controlling family shareholders experience a larger drop in the value of their equity. Firms in which the controlling shareholders' voting rights exceed their cash flow rights, borrow more from the main banks, and are highly diversified also have lower returns. Finally, we find that downsizing (diversifying expansionary) actions during the crisis have a positive (negative) effect on the value of chaebol firms. Our results suggest that change in firm value during such a crisis is a function of firm-level differences in corporate governance measures and owner-manager incentives. / 1

c In the 1980s a number of large corporations restructured their diversified businesses through divestitures. It is hypothesized that restructuring activity focused on firms at intermediate levels of diversification (e.g., related-linked) which have a mixture of related and unrelated business units. Results confirm this hypothesis which explains that such mixed corporate strategies create organizational and control inefficiencies in managing both related and unrelated types of business units. Restructured firms were also found to move towards two types of different internal capital markets (related and unrelated). Most restructuring firms moved toward lower levels of diversification (e.g., related-constrained), although some moved toward higher levels of diversification (e.g., unrelated business). Also, this study finds restructuring firms that changed their corporate strategy by reducing diversified scope increased their R& D intensity. Firms that restructured and increased their diversifed scope decreased R&D intensity. This result suggested a partial substitution between diversijication and R&D activity.

Business portfolio restructuring (BPR) has received considerable attention in the fields of management and finance. However, to the best of our knowledge, there are no
studies applying extensive qualitative and quantitative methods to BPR research. The aim of the present paper is to fill this gap by presenting the first complete bibliometric review of BPR research. In this work, for the first time, not only the extant literature published between 1993 and 2012 is analysed but also the most cited bibliographic references using bibliometric techniques. In this way, past and present academic contributions are reviewed. Four main results are forthcoming: first, a certain parallelism is found with bibliometric studies in strategic management. Second, the intellectual grounding for this field involves the subjects of economics, management and finance as its principal contributors. Third, the theoretical basis for the study of BPR mainly involves agency theory, transaction cost theory, and the resource-based view. Fourth, the financial crisis of 2008 explains an important part of current research priorities and trends among BPR scholars.

Chapter 1 Prospects for Growth and Poverty Reduction in Developing Countries I The external environment for developing countries is improving 3 The outlook for developing countries in 1999-2001 suggests significant acceleration 17 Projections for growth in developing countries in the long term are lower 22 Recent trends and prospects for poverty in developing countries 28 Risks to the forecast and a low-case scenario 36 Notes 42 References 44 Chapter 2 External Shocks, Financial Crises, and Poverty in Developing Countries 47 External shocks and poverty in developing countries 48 Income poverty and inequality during the East Asian crisis 51 Beyond current income effects of the East Asian crisis 62 Fostering sustained growth and reducing the social costs of volatility and crises 65 Notes 67 References 68 Chapter 3 Asian Restructuring: From Cyclical Recovery to Sustainable Growth 73 The uneven recovery 74 The focal point of restructuring: the financial sector 84 Corporate restructuring: some progress, but a long way to go 91 Notes 98 References 99 Chapter 4 Managing the Recent Commodity Price Cycle 103 Key issues confronting primary commodity exporters 104 The savings response to commodity price cycles 108 iii G LO B AL EC ONO MI C PRO SP EC TS The savings response by oil exporting countries to the recent swing in oil prices 110 The savings response by non-oil commodity exporting countries of Sub-Saharan Africa 119 Notes 127 References 130 Appendix 1 Regional Economic Prospects 133 Appendix 2 Global Economic Indicators 151 Classification of Economies 169 Figures 1.1 World industrial production 4 1.2 U.S private savings rate and current account balance 6 1.3 G-3 consumer prices, 1997-99 8 1.4 Short-term interest rates, 1998-99 9 1.5 World import volume growth 10 1.6 Spreads on Brady bonds 15 1.7 Real GDP growth for developing countries 17 1.8 Index of financial conditions since June 1997 18 1.9 Growth of U.S. employment and productivity in manufacturing 22 1.10 Long-term trends in commodity prices, 1990-2008 25 2.1 Terms of trade and GDP growth volatility, 1961-97 49 2.2 Unemployment in East Asia during the crisis 59 2.3 Poverty and spending on social safety nets in East Asia, 1996-98 60 2.4 Change in gross domestic savings, 1997-98 62 2.5 Relative price of foods during the crisis 63 3.1 Nontradable production before and after crises 75 3.2 Industrial production before and after crises 76 3.3 Production index in Korea by industry 77 3.4 Thai nonperforming loans and interest rates, June 1998-September 1999 79 3.5 Change in bank deposits and lending to the private sector, December 1998-July 1999 81 3.6 Total investment in East Asia 81 3.7 Cross-border mergers and acquisitions, Ql 1997-Q2 1999 95 4.1 Primary commodity prices versus manufactures unit value index, 1960-98 105 4.2 The decline in commodity prices due to the East Asian crisis 108 4.3 Current and previous price declines of nonenergy commodities 109 4.4 Mexico's current account, 1970-82 115 4.5 Shares of merchandise exports of Sub-Saharan Africa non-oil commodity exporters, 1990-97 119 4.6 Agricultural exporters' trade prices, 1993-98 120 4.7 Metals and minerals exporters' trade prices, 1993-98 121 4.8 Real income, savings, and aid during booms 125 G LO B AL EC ONO MI C PRO SP EC TS Boxes 1.1 Sectoral and regional effects of the East Asian crisis 12-13 1.2 Prospects for a new round of multilateral trade negotiations 26-27 1.3 Technical discussion of assumptions 34 1.4 Can the international development target for reducing income poverty be achieved? 37 1.5 Failing to forecast the severity of the East Asian crisis 38-39 1.6 The possible impact of the Y2K bug on developing countries 40-41 2.1 Volatility, growth, and poverty 51 2.2 External shocks and fluctuations in poverty in Mexico 52-53 3.1 Why distress can persist 80 3.2 Redeployment of assets: lessons from Japan 92-93 4.1 Counterfactual scenarios 112 4.2 Public sector expenditures during the oil price boom 116 4.3 Fiscal adjustment in Saudi Arabia and Venezuela 117 4.4 Savings and real incomes during the commodity price cycle 124 4.5 Real incomes in Benin during the commodity price cycle 127 vi vii G LO BA L EC ONO MI C PROS PE CT S cope with the wide swings in commodity prices more successfully than others. In the oil exporting countries, weak policy environments led to mixed savings performance and lower investment over the oil price cycle. These countries have generally been unsuccessful in reducing their dependence on oil revenues, and the fall in investment will further impede progress. By contrast, the commodity price cycle of the 1990s does not appear to have adversely affected the prospects for growth in the non-oil exporting countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. Changes in real incomes were generally smaller than in the oil exporting countries, and improvements in policies in several countries enabled them to increase savings and investment rates during both commodity-price booms and busts. Overall, then, Global Economic Prospects 2000 shows a mixed picture, with a number of extraordinary challenges confronting developing countries in their efforts to further economic progress and reduce poverty. We hope that this report will serve both to sharpen the World Bank's work in supporting our clients, and to inform the international community about the critical development issues of the day.

The longevity debate about buy-outs has hitherto been restricted. By focusing on large highly leveraged transactions, existing research has taken only a partial view of how long buy-outs last and the factors influencing longevity. This paper develops and tests hypotheses concerning the influences on buy-out longevity across the whole spectrum of management buy-out applications. Both quantitative and case study evidence from the U. K. is presented. A heterogeneity view of buy-outs is supported. Tests using quantitative data show that earlier exit is associated with larger buy-outs, and buy-outs arising on privatization from the public sector and from non-U. K. parents. Case study evidence principally supports hypotheses that earlier exit is associated with financing institutions being in a relatively stronger position than management and with more rapidly changing market conditions for the firm.

The paper analyses the role of private equity in restructuring the UK corporate economy. It develops a theoretical synthesis to show that the evolution of the PE industry and firms in which it invested were governed by the relations of corporate governance between investor and investee companies. Effective governance relations were a necessary condition for success and complement firm specific resources to create competitive advantage. Four case studies are used to show the contrasting effects of these determining factors, ICFC and Slater Walker, and the two waves of buy-out centred restructuring that developed with the maturity of the PE industry after 1980. In contrast to the evolutionary approach, the periodisations utilised in this study show that structural breaks associated with points of institutional reform are also necessary to make firm specific resource and governance determinants of competitive advantage operable.

While scholars have examined how micro-textual argumentative strategies are used to (de)legitimize contested corporate practices, less attention has been given to the role of ideologies or broader belief systems, underlying discursive (de)legitimation. Analyzing newspaper articles published after the announcement of two highly debated corporate restructurings in Belgium during the Great Recession, we identify the ideologies underlying (de)legitimizing statements and examine the discursive strategies through which social actors reproduce elements of these ideologies in legitimacy struggles. We show how the ideologies of ‘neoliberal capitalism’ and ‘humanistic capitalism’ shape framings of the restructurings, identity constructions of actors involved and propositions for government measures to prevent future restructurings from happening. Apart from predictable patterns of reproduction, we discern four creative reproduction strategies: ‘refutation of elements of ideological representations’, ‘appropriation of key vocabularies’, ‘hybridization of ideological representations’, and ‘ideological pioneering’. Our study contributes by (1) providing novel insights into how ideologies function as discursive resources for (de)legitimation of contested corporate undertakings, (2) reconsidering the political nature of (de)legitimizing statements, and (3) reflecting on the (im)possibility of resistance against globalization-driven restructurings in multinational corporations and the neoliberal ideological project in general.

The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate.

The paper shows that variables commonly used in takeover prediction models also help to explain the likelihood of several other restructuring events, including divestitures, bankruptcies and significant employee layoffs. This finding helps to explain the larger misclassification errors in binomial takeover prediction models commonly used in prior research. The results show that modelling takeover prediction models in a binomial setting is likely to lead to misspecification in the parameter estimates and, further, result in erroneous conclusions about the determinants of takeover likelihood. The paper shows that controlling for other restructuring events by using a multinomial framework results in consistently lower misclassification errors in out-of-sample prediction tests, when compared to the benchmark of a typical binomial model.

Recent controversy over the introduction of genetically modi"ed crops and their subsequent incorporation into foods has led to major popular debate and discussion. Despite this, there has been relatively little academic discussion of the background to these developments. In this paper it is argued that such developments need to be seen in the context of restructuring activity within the new &biosciences industry' and closely linked to the globalization of such corporate activity and the drive for the liberalization of trade. By contrast, the reaction to genetically modi"ed foods and seeds has typically been national or local in scope, and limited in its e!ectiveness.

This paper examines a parent firm's decision to create a new publicly traded company from a subsidiary unit using a hand-collected sample of 82 equity carve-outs and carve-out announcements in Germany between 1984 and 2002. The results show that parent firm managers make use of relative cost advantages of external financing and finance past investment through carve-outs. The evidence does not support the view that the carve-out decision is driven by market timing considerations. Furthermore, parent firms seem to alleviate internal conflicts through the restructuring. Finally, this paper shows that the reduction in ownership of the parent is positively related to the value of the firm.

We examine the role played by the parent"s motive in undertaking a carve-out; parent"s post-IPO influence over the carved-out subsidiary; and anti-takeover provisions and industry structure of a carve-out on its acquisition likelihood and its acquisition premium. We find that the probability and hazard of a carve-out acquisition increases when the parent"s objective is to unlock the value of a subsidiary and when the parent and the subsidiary are tied with a product-market relationship. We also find that the post-IPO parent ownership significantly affects the likelihood and level of acquisition premium. Additional analyses examining the post-IPO carve-out status suggest that the impact of a product-market relationship and post-IPO parent ownership increase the probability of re-acquisition.

This paper is a critical analysis of media discourse on a corporate restructuring case in the pulp and paper industry in Finland. The analysis indicates that discursive struggles over the legitimacy of corporate restructuring initiatives, especially industrial shutdowns, are highly contextual processes, deeply embedded in the socio-historical specificities of the locations where they occur. Legitimation of the various restructuring measures is a political and a fundamentally historical process. It is argued that analyses of legitimation strategies need to deploy a processual, historical approach to be able to effectively engage with the practice of legitimation. The importance of, and the differences in, nationalist discourses in securing or challenging the legitimacy for drastic restructuring measures is analysed in the specific context of Finland.

This article explores the link between trade unions, institutions, and the political aspects of MNC restructuring. In particular, it addresses the perceptions of local trade unionists towards the mobilization of politics and institutions to face these threats. From a theoretical standpoint, this study addresses three approaches to trade union strategies. The first one focuses on how the differences in regime types and institutional ‘densities’ impact plant closures. The second one focuses on power and the social relationships of local actors. The third approach focuses on contingencies relating to MNCs’ organizational characteristics. From a methodological standpoint, four cases (two in France, two in Canada) are compared to explain variations in union strategy. Drawing on 44 interviews with key interlocutors from the labour movement, this study finds that the local unions tried to mobilize political actors and institutions in order to save their plants. However, this mobilization strategy was ineffective in each company and institutional context. Interestingly, it was the power resources and strategic capabilities available to unions that mattered. Unions that were able to effectively “invent” alternative visions for their plants’ futures were most successful in mitigating negative outcomes from restructuring. This article concludes with a discussion of the role of the state in plant closures and how unions can partake in contentious politics in an era of economic restructuring.

The structural adjustment programme (SAP) is an economic reform package suggested by the multilateral agencies
(IMF and World Bank) for developing countries. Its core aims are to fuel local productivity, expand the economic base,
realize viability in balance of payments, cause reduction in government expenditure, improve economic competence
and boost the growth potential of the economy in order to move the developing countries forward. Many African countries
and other developing countries adopted this programme as a panacea to their seemingly economic problems. This
study examines the influence of the SAP in developing economies – with a special focus on Nigeria. The study reviews
the period when SAP was introduced (1986), through to 2012. Correlation test and error correction mechanism (ECM)
were used after confirming the constant nature of the parameters. The finding illustrates the presence of a long-term
association among the variables. Furthermore, SAP has a significant and direct influence on the growth of the Nigerian
economy. The study suggests that SAP has contributed positively to economic growth of Nigeria; however, certain
economic problems can be attributed to the level of the nation’s economic growth. Based on the findings, the study
supports the IMF proposition that SAP is beneficial to the growth of an economy and it enhances the stability of the
economy.

This paper examines security price reactions of European demergers. For a period ranging from one and a half years prior to the demerger announcement through to three years after the execution date, the relative performance of the parent, spin-off and the combined effect is analysed relative to the overall market performance. Significant announcement effects were established for a sample of 48 European demergers. In addition, significant positive longterm value creation, in particular in year 2 after the demerger, was found for the spin-off but not for the parent firm. While size has, on average, a decisive but inverse impact on performance for both parent and spin-off, takeover activity does not.

In recent years the problem of the determination of causality has become an increasingly important question in the field of corporate governance. This paper reviews contemporary literature on the topic and finds that the current approach is to attempt to determine causality empirically and that the problem remains unresolved. After explaining the reasons why it is not possible to attempt to determine causality using real world data without falling prey to a logical fallacy, this paper discusses an approach to deal with the problem. In particular, the paper argues that the appropriate approach for the problem is to build theories, with causality featuring as a part of those theories, and then to test those theories both for logical and empirical consistency.

This paper examines the ongoing changes in strategy, structure, and performance of the largest 250 non-financial firms in both Britain and Germany. To this end, publicly available firm-level data is presented at first and supplemented by the results of a questionnaire survey that was sent to the chief executives of those companies. What came through from the survey was that many firms in both countries are driven by the desire to specialise and internationalise and are primarily achieving this via 'horizontal' mergers and acquisitions. While seeing a definite convergence in certain areas, clear and distinctive differences remain between the two countries.

This Special Issue of critical perspectives on international businesses addresses a question of fundamental concern to both scholars of international business and citizens around the world: what has changed in the composition and functioning of national economies and the international economic system in order to plunge the global economy into a lengthy and, to date, irresolvable crisis? Early efforts to paper-over the initial financial crisis (usually judged to have begun in late 2007), by bailing out financial institutions and embarking in some tentative, Keynesian-inspired tax cuts and deficit spending to underpin demand, may have averted the risk of total collapse, but growing concern about the risk of ballooning deficits in government borrowing quickly engendered a return to the deflationary policies that had been the main response of government and business elites to the Great Depression of the 1930s. This policy reversal reflects the stranglehold of neoliberal ideology on economic and political thinking almost everywhere: the crisis, no matter how it might have been caused, apparently must be resolved through the sacrifices of ordinary citizens. In Europe, right wing governments which controlled all the major states (until Francois Hollande's victory in France in May 2012) responded to the 'demands of the markets' by imposing austerity measures both externally (and particularly on the countries on the fringes of Europe with weaker economies) and internally, where individual taxpayers and curbs on government spending are the primary source of debt repayments.

Procesy transformacji gospodarczej w Polsce, zachodzące pod wpływem nasilających się procesów globalizacji, wpływają w zasadniczym stopniu na gruntowne zmiany funkcjonowania poszczególnych sektorów gospodarki narodowej, przedsiębiorstw przemysłowych i usługowych oraz instytucji. W efekcie dochodzi do przebudowy struktur przemysłowych, która dokonuje się w wyniku zmian funkcjonowania przedsiębiorstw przemysłowych, traktowanych jako podstawowe elementy przestrzennych form koncentracji przemysłu. W centralnym systemie sterowania przedsiębiorstwa przemysłowe funkcjonowały w warunkach gospodarki planowej, przejawiającej się w wykonywaniu zadań wyznaczonych przez plany jednostek nadrzędnych, co wpływało na ograniczenie samodzielności przedsiębiorstw w zakresie zasobów majątkowych, wielkości i asortymentu produkcji, kierunków zbytu, zaopatrzenia w surowce i materiały, struktur organizacyjnych, zatrudnienia, a także kierunków rozwoju. W stosunkowo niewielkim stopniu sprzyjało to modernizacji procesów produkcji, podnoszeniu jakości asortymentu produkcji i wdrażaniu innowacji. We wprowadzanym systemie gospodarki rynkowej w otoczeniu przedsiębiorstw pojawiły się nowe uwarunkowania ich funkcjonowania, a mechanizmy konkurencji zaczęły mieć istotne znaczenie w zmianach kierunku działalności przedsiębiorstw oraz ich selekcji. Proces dostosowania się przedsiębiorstw przemysłowych do tych nowych warunków gospodarowania wymaga od nich przeprowadzenia głębokich zmian w funkcjonowaniu, prowadzących do podniesienia ich konkurencyjności. Zmiany te warunkują uczestnictwo krajowych przedsiębiorstw przemysłowych w globalnych procesach gospodarczych i integrację polskiego przemysłu z przemysłem światowym, zwłaszcza w drodze powiązań organizacyjnych, kapitałowych, technologicznych i wchodzenia w ukształtowane sieci rynkowe ponadnarodowych korporacji. Dlatego też z punktu widzenia analizy procesu transformacji gospodarczej w Polsce, w szczególności transformacji struktur przemysłowych, istotna wydaje się problematyka badawcza funkcjonowania poszczególnych przedsiębiorstw przemysłowych.

This article assesses the validity of John Maynard Keynes' claim that the Lancashire cotton industry failed to restructure because the banks as debt holders prevented firms exiting the industry, creating persistent overcapacity. Using case studies from a substantial sample of Lancashire firms, the paper explores archival evidence to establish their financial characteristics, to examine their equity and debt finance and the governance roles of directors and outside ownerhip groups. On the basis of this review the paper develops hypotheses to suggest alternatives to the view that bank debt was the dominant explantion of firm level behaviour and industry failure. Applying these to a statsitical dataset, results show that syndicates of local shareholders, not banks, were an important impediment to the exit of firms. Moreover, syndicates milked firms of any profits through dividends, thereby limiting reinvestment and re-equipment possibilities. Our results show that where laissez-faire fails in response to a crisis, incumbent investors, particularly block-holders, can be an important impediment to corporate restructuring.

According to firm lifecycle theory the agency costs of free cash flows are not transitory problems, but are a recurrent issue once firms reach a certain stage in their lifecycle. In particular, as firms mature their cash flows increase substantially while their investment opportunities decline and, to prevent retrenchment, managements need to invest in negative net present value projects. However, too much overinvestment leads to low firm valuation and potentially a hostile takeover. This paper extends firm lifecycle theory by arguing that to neutralize the threat of takeover, managements of maturing firms and their boards of directors progressively deploy antitakeover provisions which allow them to overinvest safely and prevent a decline in the size of their corporations. Firm lifecycle theory is also tested empirically. In this respect, a contribution of this paper is to develop a new empirical index that permits the identification of mature corporations with governance problems due to agency costs of free cash flows. The empirical results show that as firms mature agency costs of free cash flows increase, more antitakeover provisions are put into place and firms invest in projects with returns below their cost of capital.

This book analyses the consequences of restructuring on health and safety and quality of work life with a specific focus on psychosocial risks.  Drawing on the case study research of the WORKS project, it outlines some cross national trends in the EU, with a close examination of the six dimensions identified by Kristensen as indicator of work-related stress: demands in work; influence over work; social support; recognition and reward; predictability and meaning. The analysis identifies new problems but also new opportunities and it concludes suggesting some recommendations.

This paper illustrates how CSR initiatives can deliver significant added value to the stakeholders involved. Especially multinational companies can initiate the creation of shared value among stakeholders by collaborating with universities in educational CSR initiatives and by aligning such initiatives with their business strategy and manage them with controlling methodology.

Our analysis will be based on successful educational CSR projects of multinational companies implemented within the West University of Timisoara.  The practical implications for multinational companies are huge. Instead of engaging in CSR initiatives not related to their business strategy, our study illustrates how the value added can be increased by aligning CSR projects with the core business strategy. Furthermore, social implications of such initiatives are described by illustrating how other stakeholders could reach their complementary goals in this initiative.

The main contribution of this paper is to describe the success factors for educational CSR projects from a multi-stakeholder perspective and illustrating the usage of controlling methodology on two successfully implemented case studies.

This report presents the findings of a three-year study comparing the different approaches that incumbent telecommunications firms in Europe and the USA have taken to restructuring service jobs over the past two decades. The study was motivated by a concern with the conditions under which mutual gains that benefit both employers and employees can be achieved when management is under increased pressure to reduce labour costs and downsize employment. In an industry where markets are rapidly becoming more competitive and internationalized, have incumbent firms adopted different restructuring strategies – and if so, what explains these differences? Under what conditions are employers more likely to adopt ‘high road’ practices, investing in high pay, skills, and opportunities for employees to participate in decision-making? To what extent do these kinds of high road practices benefit both a broad cross-section of employees and their employers – and what factors make it more difficult to realize mutual gains? Is there any evidence to suggest that certain best practice models can be sustained or replicated in other settings?

To answer these questions, we compared approaches to employment restructuring in ten major incumbent telecommunications firms in Europe and the USA. Case study companies were chosen from countries representing different national ‘models’, recognized for having distinctive sets of labour market and corporate governance institutions. These included:
1) Nordic: TDC (Denmark) and TeliaSonera (Sweden)
2) Centre European: Deutsche Telekom (Germany) and Telekom Austria/ A1 (Austria)
3) Mediterranean: France Telecom/ Orange (France) and Telecom Italia (Italy)
4) Anglo-American: BT (UK) and AT&T (USA)
5) Central and Eastern European (CEE): Telekomunikacja Polska/ Orange Polska (Poland) and Český Telecom/ O2 Telefónica Czech Republic (Czech Republic)

In order to trace differences in employment practices and outcomes, we focused on two major employee groups: technicians and call centre employees. These two groups were chosen because they represent a large share of service employment at our case study companies, and have been the target of restructuring and work reorganization.

This study examines the heretofore-unexplored costs of political connections in the context of China's corporate restructuring. Leveraging original surveys of the same Chinese firms over an eleven-year period and the variations in their post-restructuring board composition, we find that restructured state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with political connections, measured as current or former government officials on the firm board, receive more preferential access to key inputs and policy opportunities controlled by the state, but they also pay more tax, independent of profits. We argue this is repayment by politically connected firms for the state's "helping hand." Our findings suggest that state-firm relations be recast as a reciprocal exchange rather than a one-sided provision of benefits from the state to its politically connected firms. Shifting the focus from profits to taxes also offers an explanation as to why China continues to favour SOEs over the private sector even when they are less profitable. 2

ABSTRACT---- The purpose of the study was to determine the impact of hedging with derivatives on company value on listed non-financial companies in South Africa (SA) and compare these with companies in a developed nation like the United States of America (USA) in terms of how the use of derivatives impacts on the company value. The premium or discount in company value is represented by the Tobin’s Q ratio. The study analyses the different types of derivatives and what impact each type of derivative has on the company value from 2006-2009. In most cases, the outcome of the analysis did not find strong evidence that users’ of derivatives’ company values trade at a premium to non-users.

The financial crisis and the sovereign debt crisis have been attributed to a number of causes. Whether these are economic, social, cultural or legal, they are all by and large also political. The aim of this article is not to delve into the myriad of heated political arguments that continue to dominate the scene but to assess the impact of the financial crisis on the employment protection rights and the corporate rescue regimes in Greece, Portugal, France and the UK. In light of the crisis, the rights of the workforce have been severely compromised to afford financially troubled companies a greater opportunity to recover. In order to minimise the catastrophic impact of financial turmoil on their economy and society, all four jurisdictions introduced reforms to their labour codes and corporate rescue mechanisms, often in the name of austerity. This article will offer a snapshot of the changes and their effects and an assessment whether or not the reforms of pre-insolvency regimes have operated as an effective embankment for the protection of social and economic welfare. The purpose of this piece is to shed a light on the changes that have occurred and that have affected employment rights in the domestic legal systems of individual member states, as influenced to some extent by the EU in its expectations of improvements to increase labour market flexibility, and whether corporate rescue mechanisms in individual member states are able to provide some counterbalance to the erosion of employment rights generally. Copyright

El proceso de desregulación del sector eléctrico en la Unión Europea generó acciones estratégicas de parte de las empresas del sector que han llevado al reordenamiento de su mercado de energía eléctrica. Una serie de fusiones y adquisiciones ocurrieron a raíz de ese proceso. Este trabajo investiga cómo la consecuente ola de fusiones y adquisiciones que se dio en la primera década de este siglo ha afectado el valor en bolsa de las empresas compradoras y adquiridas. Para este propósito, haciendo uso de la metodología de los estudios de acontecimiento y con técnicas econométricas de MCO, GARCH y SURE se encontró que las fusiones y adquisiciones presentaron un efecto positivo estadísticamente significativo sobre el precio de cotización en bolsa para la empresa objeto de compra (u opada), lo cual es consistente con estudios previos.

Corporate restructuring has become a tool of
business integration and valuation strength
across economies worldwide. Besides, financial
implications there are other non-financial
issues also having direct impact on the success
of any corporate merger or acquisition. One of
those issues is the human capital of any
corporate body. Human capital is the human
resources having cultural diversity within the
corporate body. This study analyses the impact
of human and cultural factors on the objectivity
and success of any corporate restructuring
exercise.

Harmonisation of insolvency laws has been at the top of the EU institutions' agenda for the last decade. This frenzy precipitated in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis. European institutions have been prolific in creating a comprehensive EU-wide framework. These efforts culminated with the recast European Insolvency Regulation (2015) and the Preventive Restructuring Directive (2019). The sweeping nature and devastating effects of the Covid-19 panedemic, however, have put both the pre-insolvency craze and harmonisation momentum to a halt.

The dynamic transformation of the Polish economy from a centrally planned to market economy is by now well advanced. The transformation has also contributed to a rapid development of the capital market. However, the leveraged buyout market has hardly been developed yet.

State owned enterprises (SOEs) in China have undergone significant restructuring since the mid-1990s. To date, scholars have devoted considerable attention to the constraints and motives of corporate restructuring in China. Yet the majority of the existing studies treat restructuring as a simple ownership transfer from the state to non-state entities without differentiating the resulting ownership structure of the firm. Consequently, we know relatively little about why otherwise similar SOEs were restructured at different times and through different means. This study intends to fill this gap by examining the determinants of both the timing and methods of restructuring in a unique longitudinal survey of 145 SOEs over an eleven-year period. Using a competing-risks model, we demonstrate that political as well as economic factors determine the possibility, nature, and speed of restructuring. In particular, we show that political constraint about worker retention increases the likelihood that an SOE will be restructured as shareholding as opposed to direct transfer of ownership to private hands. These findings shed new light on the economic and political logic of corporate restructuring in China.

This case study discusses the corporate restructuring of ABB India Limited with Hitachi. The case delves into the details about the restructuring, restructuring motives and the benefits of the restructuring. Modalities of the deal with projected synergy gain has also been explored and explained via a typical slump sale process. We conclude the case using a brand versus burden analysis by summarizing postdeal market reaction.

Industrial restructuring that took place in most developing countries after the mid-1980s failed to take  into  consideration  the  working  and  living  conditions  of  workers,  since  multinational  companies  that bought over state owned enterprises focused more on profit maximization at the detriment of workers welfare. This study explores the challenges and coping strategies of workers of the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) in the context of neoliberal restructuring masterminded by the Bretton Wood Institutions. The  researcher  employed  a  qualitative  phenomenological  research  design  with  purposeful  sampling  of participants.  Data  collection  entailed  conducting  in-depth  interviews  and  focus  group  discussions  with  120 male  and  female  workers  drawn  from  four  CDC  camps  in  Fako  Division.  The  study  affirms  that  the restructuring  of  the  CDC  had  negative  consequences  on  the  living  and  working  conditions  of  workers.  In a bid to salvage the situation workers had to reduce their expenditure and diversify their sources of income. The coping strategies that were employed by workers to curb the negative effects of these restructuring failed to ameliorate their living conditions, though little has been done by the CDC, CTE and Delmonte to ameliorate their situation, despite huge sacrifices they have made to restore the CDC to its past glory.

This paper analyzes the recent process of mergers and acquisitions in Mexico, which has become increasingly important in business competitiveness. In particular, the paper addresses tax and commercial reforms to determine the requirements of a merger and/or acquisition he field of mergers and acquisitions in Mexico in 2015, 2016 and the first quarter of 2017 in order to
understand which sectors are of greater importance.
Keywords: Acquisition, merger, partnership, corporate restructuring, transfer.