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

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  • 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
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. 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.
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    1. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-591 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Kevin Levillain & Blanche Segrestin, 2016. "Entrepreneur’s Wealth vs. Firm’s Welfare: Exploring an “evergreen” governance for firm succession," Post-Print hal-01292956, HAL.
    6. 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).
    7. 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.
    8. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-605 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. 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.
    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. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. Renneboog, Luc & Vansteenkiste, Cara, 2017. "Leveraged Buyouts : A Survey of the Literature," Other publications TiSEM 573ebdd5-a720-4110-8ed1-e, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    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. 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.
    20. 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.
    21. 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.
    22. 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.
    23. 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.
    24. 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.
    25. KAWANISHI Takuya, 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).

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