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Ownership dispersion and the London Stock Exchange's 'two-thirds rule': an empirical test

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  • Brian R. Cheffins
  • Dmitri K. Koustas
  • David Chambers

Abstract

In the UK, in contrast to most other countries, a hallmark of corporate governance is a separation of ownership and control. There is evidence suggesting that this pattern may have been the norm in Britain as far back as the late nineteenth century. This paper investigates the extent to which law, in the form of a London Stock Exchange listing rule that prohibited the quotation of a class of securities unless two-thirds of the securities quoted had been subscribed for by and allotted to the public, contributed to this outcome. This paper tests the impact of the two-thirds rule by analysing for domestically based companies that carried out initial public offerings between 1900 and 1911 data compiled from prospectuses, a UK investors' guide and documents filed in accordance with UK companies legislation. The results indicate that the two-thirds rule did not influence ownership and control to the extent that might have been anticipated.

Suggested Citation

  • Brian R. Cheffins & Dmitri K. Koustas & David Chambers, 2013. "Ownership dispersion and the London Stock Exchange's 'two-thirds rule': an empirical test," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(4), pages 670-693, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:bushst:v:55:y:2013:i:4:p:670-693
    DOI: 10.1080/00076791.2012.741969
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    Cited by:

    1. Turner, John D., 2017. "The development of English company law before 1900," QUCEH Working Paper Series 2017-01, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    2. Mary A. O'Sullivan, 2015. "Yankee Doodle went to London: Anglo-American breweries and the London securities market, 1888–92," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 68(4), pages 1365-1387, November.
    3. Fjesme, Sturla & Hannah, Leslie & Moore, Lyndon, 2024. "Informed investors, screening, and sorting on the London capital market, 1891-1913," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Graeme G. Acheson & Gareth Campbell & John D. Turner & Nadia Vanteeva, 2015. "Corporate ownership and control in Victorian Britain," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 68(3), pages 911-936, August.
    5. Eric Hilt, 2014. "Corporate Governance and the Development of Manufacturing Enterprises in Nineteenth-Century Massachusetts," NBER Chapters, in: Enterprising America: Businesses, Banks, and Credit Markets in Historical Perspective, pages 73-102, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Acheson, Graeme G. & Campbell, Gareth & Turner, John D., 2016. "Common law and the origin of shareholder protection," eabh Papers 16-03, The European Association for Banking and Financial History (EABH).
    7. Giovanni Dosi & Valerie Revest & Alessandro Sapio, 2016. "Financial regimes, financialization patterns and industrial performances: preliminary remarks," LEM Papers Series 2016/25, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.

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