IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/apfiec/v15y2005i13p947-961.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Undervaluation, private information, agency costs and the decision to go private

Author

Listed:
  • C. Weir
  • D. Laing
  • M. Wright

Abstract

There is widespread anecdotal evidence that poor stock market performance is an important reason for taking a company private. The results support the perceived undervaluation hypothesis. The finding also applies to management buy-outs, which indicates that the management of these firms had private information. It is also found that firms going private had non-optimal governance structures, higher board and institutional ownership. The last finding is consistent with going private transactions providing institutions with a means of existing firms with poor market valuation, particularly during a time of very limited pressure from the market for corporate control.

Suggested Citation

  • C. Weir & D. Laing & M. Wright, 2005. "Undervaluation, private information, agency costs and the decision to go private," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(13), pages 947-961.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:apfiec:v:15:y:2005:i:13:p:947-961
    DOI: 10.1080/09603100500278221
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09603100500278221
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/09603100500278221?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

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

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kenneth Lehn & Annette Poulsen, 1989. "Free Cash Flow and Stockholder Gains in Going Private Transactions," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 44(3), pages 771-787, July.
    2. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    3. Robert L. Kieschnick, Jr, 1998. "Free Cash Flow and Stockholder Gains in Going Private Transactions Revisited," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(1&2), pages 187-202.
    4. Jay Dahya & John J. McConnell & Nickolaos G. Travlos, 2002. "The Cadbury Committee, Corporate Performance, and Top Management Turnover," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(1), pages 461-483, February.
    5. Charlie Weir & David Laing & Phillip J. McKnight, 2002. "Internal and External Governance Mechanisms: Their Impact on the Performance of Large UK Public Companies," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5&6), pages 579-611.
    6. repec:bla:jfinan:v:44:y:1989:i:3:p:771-87 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Charlie Weir & David Laing & Phillip J. McKnight, 2002. "Internal and External Governance Mechanisms: Their Impact on the Performance of Large UK Public Companies," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(5‐6), pages 579-611.
    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. Cumming, Douglas & Siegel, Donald S. & Wright, Mike, 2007. "Private equity, leveraged buyouts and governance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 439-460, September.
    2. Martin Bugeja & Kosta Sinelnikov, 2012. "Public versus private takeovers of Australian stock exchange listed targets," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 37(3), pages 391-414, December.
    3. Martinez, Isabelle & Serve, Stéphanie, 2011. "The delisting decision: The case of buyout offer with squeeze-out (BOSO)," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 228-239.
    4. Belkhir, Mohamed & Boubaker, Sabri & Rouatbi, Wael, 2013. "Excess control, agency costs and the probability of going private in France," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 250-265.
    5. Aurélie Sannajust & Alexander Groh, 2023. "Pioneering management buy-out and entrepreneurial finance research: Mike Wright’s research legacy," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 1-35, January.
    6. Thorsten Knauer & Friedrich Sommer, 2012. "Interest barrier rules as a response to highly leveraged transactions," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(2), pages 206-232, May.
    7. Achleitner, Ann-Kristin & Andres, Christian & Betzer, André & Weir, Charlie, 2008. "Economic consequences of private equity investments on the German stock market," CEFS Working Paper Series 2008-05, Technische Universität München (TUM), Center for Entrepreneurial and Financial Studies (CEFS).
    8. Manuela Geranio & Giovanna Zanotti, 2012. "Equity Markets Do Not Fit All: an Analysis of Public†to†Private Deals in Continental Europe," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 18(5), pages 867-895, November.
    9. Subhrendu Rath & Mamunur Rashid, 2016. "Undervaluation and private equity takeovers," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 41(4), pages 735-759, November.
    10. Pierpaolo Pattitoni & Barbara Petracci & Massimo Spisni, 2015. "“Hit and Run” and “Revolving Doors”: evidence from the Italian stock market," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 19(2), pages 285-301, May.
    11. Mittoo, Usha & Ng, Dennis & Yan, Meng, 2020. "Managerial ownership, credit market conditions, undervaluation and offer premiums in management (MBOs) and leveraged buyouts (LBOs)," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    12. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-591 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Domitilla Magni & Ottorino Morresi & Alberto Pezzi & Domenico Graziano, 2022. "Defining the Relationship Between Firm’s Performance and Delisting: Empirical Evidence of Going Private in Europe," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(3), pages 2584-2605, September.
    14. Renneboog, Luc & Vansteenkiste, Cara, 2017. "Leveraged Buyouts : A Survey of the Literature," Discussion Paper 2017-015, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    15. Bajo, Emanuele & Barbi, Massimiliano & Bigelli, Marco & Hillier, David, 2013. "The role of institutional investors in public-to-private transactions," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 4327-4336.
    16. Charlie Weir & Peter Jones & Mike Wright, 2015. "Public to private transactions, private equity and financial health in the UK: an empirical analysis of the impact of going private," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 19(1), pages 91-112, February.
    17. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-605 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Constant Djama & Isabelle Martinez & Stéphanie Serve, 2012. "What do we know about delistings? A survey of the literature," Post-Print hal-00937899, HAL.
    19. Ettore Croci & Alfonso Del Giudice, 2014. "Delistings, Controlling Shareholders and Firm Performance in Europe," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 20(2), pages 374-405, March.
    20. Takuya KAWANISHI, 2021. "Going-Private Transactions and Ex-Post Firm Behaviors: Evidence from Japanese Management Buyouts," Discussion papers 21067, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    21. Renneboog, Luc & Simons, Tomas & Wright, Mike, 2007. "Why do public firms go private in the UK? The impact of private equity investors, incentive realignment and undervaluation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(4), pages 591-628, September.
    22. Hu, Gang & Lin, Ji-Chai & Wong, Owen & Yu, Manning, 2019. "Why have many U.S.-listed Chinese firms announced delisting recently?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 13-31.
    23. Patricia Maria Bortolon & Annor da Silva Junior, 2015. "Delisting Brazilian Public Companies: Empirical Evidence about Corporate Governance Issues," Brazilian Business Review, Fucape Business School, vol. 0(2), pages 92-117, August.
    24. Ann-Kristin Achleitner & Christian Andres & Andre Betzer & Charlie Weir, 2011. "Wealth effects of private equity investments on the German stock market," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(3), pages 217-239.
    25. Kevin Levillain & Blanche Segrestin, 2016. "Entrepreneur’s Wealth vs. Firm’s Welfare: Exploring an “evergreen” governance for firm succession," Post-Print hal-01292956, HAL.

    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. Achleitner, Ann-Kristin & Andres, Christian & Betzer, André & Weir, Charlie, 2008. "Economic consequences of private equity investments on the German stock market," CEFS Working Paper Series 2008-05, Technische Universität München (TUM), Center for Entrepreneurial and Financial Studies (CEFS).
    2. Ann-Kristin Achleitner & Christian Andres & Andre Betzer & Charlie Weir, 2011. "Wealth effects of private equity investments on the German stock market," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(3), pages 217-239.
    3. Ann†Kristin Achleitner & André Betzer & Marc Goergen & Bastian Hinterramskogler, 2013. "Private Equity Acquisitions of Continental European Firms: the Impact of Ownership and Control on the Likelihood of Being Taken Private," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 19(1), pages 72-107, January.
    4. McKnight, Phillip J. & Weir, Charlie, 2009. "Agency costs, corporate governance mechanisms and ownership structure in large UK publicly quoted companies: A panel data analysis," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 139-158, May.
    5. Charlie Weir & David Laing, 2003. "Ownership structure, board composition and the market for corporate control in the UK: an empirical analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(16), pages 1747-1759.
    6. Pavlopoulos, Athanasios & Magnis, Chris & Iatridis, George Emmanuel, 2017. "Integrated reporting: Is it the last piece of the accounting disclosure puzzle?," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 23-46.
    7. Tarek Roshdy Gebba & Mohamed Gamal Aboelmaged, 2016. "Corporate Governance of UAE Financial Institutions: A Comparative Study between Conventional and Islamic Banks," Journal of Applied Finance & Banking, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 6(5), pages 1-7.
    8. Renneboog, L.D.R. & Simons, T., 2005. "Public-to-Private Transactions : LBOs, MBOs, MBIs and IBOs," Other publications TiSEM 3b76799c-591c-4d22-b126-a, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    9. Martin Kyere & Marcel Ausloos, 2021. "Corporate governance and firms financial performance in the United Kingdom," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 1871-1885, April.
    10. Patricia Crifo & Elena Escrig-Olmedo & Nicolas Mottis, 2019. "Corporate Governance as a Key Driver of Corporate Sustainability in France: The Role of Board Members and Investor Relations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(4), pages 1127-1146, November.
    11. Renneboog, Luc & Vansteenkiste, Cara, 2017. "Leveraged Buyouts : A Survey of the Literature," Discussion Paper 2017-015, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    12. Gregorio Sánchez‐Marín & María Encarnación Lucas‐Pérez & Samuel Baixauli‐Soler & Brian G.M. Main & Antonio Mínguez‐Vera, 2022. "Excess executive compensation and corporate governance in the United Kingdom and Spain: A comparative analysis," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(7), pages 2817-2837, October.
    13. Naeem Tabassum & Satwinder Singh, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Organisational Performance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-48527-6, July.
    14. Lepage, Fanny & Couderc, Jean-Pierre & Perrier, Jean-Philippe, 2014. "Déterminants des décisions d’investissement dans les exploitations laitières. Une approche par la théorie de la gouvernance élargie," Économie rurale, French Society of Rural Economics (SFER Société Française d'Economie Rurale), vol. 341(May-June).
    15. Ameur Boujenoui & Richard Bozec & Daniel Zeghal, 2004. "Analyse de l’évolution des mécanismes de gouvernance d’entreprise dans les sociétés d’État au Canada," Revue Finance Contrôle Stratégie, revues.org, vol. 7(2), pages 95-122, June.
    16. Verica Babić & Jelena Nikolić & Jelena Erić, 2011. "Rethinking Board Roles Performance: Towards Integrative Model," Economic Annals, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Belgrade, vol. 56(190), pages 140-162, July – Se.
    17. Nooraisah Katmon & Omar Al Farooque, 2017. "Exploring the Impact of Internal Corporate Governance on the Relation Between Disclosure Quality and Earnings Management in the UK Listed Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(2), pages 345-367, May.
    18. Ammari, Aymen & Bouteska, Ahmed & Regaieg, Boutheina, 2016. "CEO Entrenchment and Performance: New Evidence Using Nonlinear Principal Component Analysis," MPRA Paper 75529, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Chaur‐Shiuh Young & Liu‐Ching Tsai & Pei‐Gin Hsieh, 2008. "Voluntary Appointment of Independent Directors in Taiwan: Motives and Consequences," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(9‐10), pages 1103-1137, November.
    20. Iatridis, George Emmanuel, 2012. "Audit quality in common-law and code-law emerging markets: Evidence on earnings conservatism, agency costs and cost of equity," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 101-117.

    More about this item

    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:taf:apfiec:v:15:y:2005:i:13:p:947-961. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RAFE20 .

    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.