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Divestitures, wealth effects and corporate governance

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  • Sian Owen
  • Liting Shi
  • Alfred Yawson

Abstract

We analyse the market reaction to divestiture decisions and determine the impact of corporate governance practices. We find the market reaction is significant and can be determined using internal governance mechanisms. We evaluate the determinants of the decision to sell using a control sample of firms displaying characteristics often associated with divestitures indicating that these firms may face the same incentives to divest but elect not to restructure in this manner. Our results suggest that a combination of strong internal and external governance may force managers to act in a manner that is incompatible with their personal desires.

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  • Sian Owen & Liting Shi & Alfred Yawson, 2010. "Divestitures, wealth effects and corporate governance," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 50(2), pages 389-415, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:acctfi:v:50:y:2010:i:2:p:389-415
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-629X.2009.00332.x
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    Cited by:

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    2. Angélica María Sánchez-Riofrío & Luis Ángel Guerras-Martín & Francisco Javier Forcadell, 2015. "Business portfolio restructuring: a comprehensive bibliometric review," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 102(3), pages 1921-1950, March.
    3. Forcadell, Francisco Javier & Sanchez-Riofrio, Angelica & Guerras-Martín, Luis Ángel & Romero-Jordán, Desiderio, 2020. "Is the restructuring-performance relationship moderated by the economic cycle and the institutional environment for corporate governance?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 397-407.
    4. Kaprielyan, Margarita, 2016. "Valuation consequences of the decision to divest in the globalized world," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 16-29.
    5. Chiung‐Jung Chen & Chwo‐Ming Joseph Yu, 2023. "Do sell‐off market returns benefit all shareholders?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(3), pages 1504-1520, April.
    6. Renneboog, Luc & Vansteenkiste, Cara, 2019. "Failure and success in mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 650-699.
    7. Miriam Flickinger & Miriam Zschoche, 2018. "Corporate divestiture and performance: an institutional view," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 22(1), pages 111-131, March.
    8. Husam Aldamen & Keith Duncan & Simone Kelly & Ray McNamara & Stephan Nagel, 2012. "Audit committee characteristics and firm performance during the global financial crisis," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 52(4), pages 971-1000, December.
    9. Pascal Nguyen & Nahid Rahman, 2020. "Institutional ownership, cross‐shareholdings and corporate cash reserves in Japan," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(S1), pages 1175-1207, April.
    10. Naina Narang & Seema Gupta & Naliniprava Tripathy, 2023. "A bibliometric analysis of governance mechanisms in dividend decisions: an overview and emerging trends," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(4), pages 410-430, December.
    11. Curi, Claudia & Murgia, Maurizio, 2018. "Divestitures and the financial conglomerate excess value," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 187-207.
    12. Humphery-Jenner, Mark & Powell, Ronan & Zhang, Emma Jincheng, 2019. "Practice makes progress: Evidence from divestitures," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 1-19.
    13. Pascal Nguyen, 2016. "The role of the seller’s stock performance in the market reaction to divestiture announcements," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 40(1), pages 19-40, January.
    14. Erl, Ludwig & Kiesel, Florian & Koenigsmarck, Markus & Schiereck, Dirk, 2023. "Performance effects of sell-offs and the role of sell-off experience," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 244-257.

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