Empirical evidences on voluntary delisting phenomenon

The paper studies what drives firms to voluntary delist from capital markets and what differs in firms’ behavior and fundamentals between public-to-private transactions and M&A deals with listed corporations. Moreover, I study the relationship between ownership percentage in controlling shareholders’ hands and cumulative returns around the delisting public announcement. I perform my tests both for the Italian and the US markets and I compare the findings to better understand how the phenomenon works in these different institutional environments. Consistent with my expectations, I find that the likelihood of delisting is mainly related to size, underperformance and undervaluation, while shareholders are more rewarded when their companies are involved in PTP transactions than in M&As with public firms.

Essays on momentum investing strategies

The momentum investment strategy, which buys recent winner stocks and sells recent loser stocks, earns returns that are simply too good to be explained by traditional finance theories. This thesis extends our understanding of the sources of momentum profits. The research shows that part of the seemingly anomalous returns can be explained by the market's reaction to public news, is affected by how delisting returns are calculated, and is biased by ignoring the time-varying risk of the trading strategy.

Delisted stocks and momentum: Evidence from a new Australian dataset

We explore the impact of delisting on the performance of the momentum trading strategy in Australia. We employ a new dataset of hand-collected delisting returns for all Australian stocks and provide the first study outside the U.S. to jointly examine the effects of delisting and missing returns on the magnitude of momentum profits. In the sample of all stocks, we find that the profitability of momentum strategies depends crucially on the returns of delisted stocks, especiallyon bankrupt firms. In the sample of large stocks, however, the momentum effect remains strong after controlling for the effect of delisted stocks, in contrast to the U.S. evidence in which delisting returns can explain 40% of momentum profits. As these large stocks are less exposed to liquidity risks, the momentum effect in Australia is even more puzzling than in the U.S.

O direito de exoneração do acionista minoritário

This study specifically addresses the situation of minority shareholders after the transfer of control in an listed company. The various underlying interests and reasons that shareholders have for investing in a company can demonstrate shareholders’ reasoning for taking radically different positions on issues relating to the transfer of control of the referred company. This study analyses the current legal system in Portugal and in the European Union in order to assess whether, in the event of a takeover bid of a listed company where there is a transfer of control, minority shareholders have the same appraisal rights as other shareholders to sell their shares and leave the company. The study then examines the European Court of Justice decision on whether a general principle of equal treatment of minority shareholders exists upon a transfer of control (Audiolux) and the Portuguese Securities Market Commission decision regarding the delisting of Brisa - Autoestradas de Portugal, S.A. based on the principle of investor protection. The study concludes that although the principle of equality amongst shareholders has made progress in the European legal system e.g. it is laid down in Directive 2004/25/EC of 21 April 2004 on takeover bids and the Portuguese Securities Market Code, there is also a need for further improvement, which can be accomplished by allowing minority shareholders to exercise an appraisal right in similar unregulated situations.

Les politiques et pratiques commerciales québécoises en matière de boissons alcooliques dans le contexte du droit commercial international

"Mémoire présenté à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de Maîtrise en Droit (LL.M.)"

A utilização da incorporação de ações como meio para promover o fechamento de capital sem a realização de OPA

Este trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a operação de incorporação de ações, prevista no artigo 252 da Lei nº 6.404/76 (Lei das Sociedades por Ações) e sua utilização como meio para promover o fechamento de capital. A incorporação de ações é operação societária mediante a qual a totalidade de ações de determinada companhia é incorporada ao patrimônio de outra companhia, obrigatoriamente constituída de acordo com as leis brasileiras. Eventualmente, a operação de incorporação de ações pode levar ao fechamento de capital da companhia “alvo”. Diante desta possível consequência, controladores e minoritários têm discutido acerca da legitimidade do fechamento de capital mediante a incorporação de ações, e da necessidade de realização de oferta pública para aquisição de ações como condição à operação. São analisadas as diferentes posições doutrinárias e principais precedentes julgados pela Comissão de Valores Mobiliários sobre essa questão, a fim de concluir acerca da legitimidade da operação e da necessidade ou não de realização de oferta pública para aquisição de ações como condição para promover o fechamento de capital.

A saída : uma análise da deslistagem na Bovespa

Por meio da determinação das características que diferenciam empresas brasileiras listadas em bolsa a solicitarem a sua desalistagem e empresas brasileiras listadas que mantêm a sua condição de companhia aberta, o estudo explora, de forma preliminar, as motivações que levam companhias a fecharem o capital. Há evidências de que companhias cujo crescimento é pequeno, as ações são ilíquidas e possuem baixo percentual de ações em circulação (freefloat) apresentam maior probabilidade de fechar o capital. Esses resultados são consistentes com a noção de que a desalistagem ocorre quando a companhia não tem perspectivas de se beneficiar das vantagens em ser empresa de capital aberto, isto é, não necessita do mercado como fonte de financiamento, uma vez que não há crescimento; seus acionistas originais não atingiram a liquidez patrimonial, já que o free-float é baixo; e devido à iliquidez das suas ações, possivelmente os custos da seleção adversa devem ser elevados.

O direito ao esquecimento na era digital: desafios da regulação da desvinculação de urls prejudiciais a pessoas naturais nos índices de pesquisa dos buscadores horizontais

No julgamento do recurso especial referente à ação ajuizada pela apresentadora Xuxa Meneghel para compelir o Google Search a desvincular dos seus índices de busca os resultados relativos à pesquisa sobre a expressão “Xuxa pedófila” ou qualquer outra que associasse o nome da autora a esta prática criminosa, a relatora da decisão, a Ministra Nancy Andrighi, definiu de maneira clara a controvérsia de que cuida este trabalho: o cotidiano de milhares de pessoas depende atualmente de informações que estão na web, e que dificilmente seriam encontradas sem a utilização das ferramentas de pesquisas oferecidas pelos sites de busca. Por outro lado, esses mesmos buscadores horizontais podem ser usados para a localização de páginas com informações, URLs prejudiciais resultantes da busca com o nome das pessoas. Diante disso, o que fazer? Existiria realmente um direito de ser esquecido, isto é, de ter uma URL resultante de uma pesquisa sobre o nome de uma pessoa desvinculado do índice de pesquisa do buscador horizontal? Há quem afirme que a medida mais apropriada para lidar com esse problema seria ir atrás do terceiro que publicou essa informação originariamente na web. Há também quem defenda que a proteção de um direito de ser esquecido representaria uma ameaça grande demais para a liberdade de expressão e de informação. Diante deste quadro, esta dissertação visa a estabelecer quais podem ser as características e os limites do direito ao esquecimento na era digital, de acordo com o estado atual da legislação brasileira a respeito, confrontando-se tal direito com outros direitos e interesses públicos e privados (especialmente o direito à liberdade de expressão e à informação) e levando em conta as características de funcionamento da própria rede mundial de computadores, em especial das ferramentas de buscas. Tendo em vista a importância dos buscadores horizontais no exercício do acesso à informação e, além disso, as dificuldades relacionadas à retirada de URLs de todos os sítios em que tenham sido publicadas, nossa pesquisa focará no potencial – e nas dificuldades – de se empregar a regulação de tais ferramentas de busca para a proteção eficaz do direito ao esquecimento na era digital.

Management of Wolf-Livestock Conflicts in Minnesota

In 1975, the gray wolf (Canis lupus) population in Minnesota was protected by the federal Endangered Species Act (USA). At that time, there were 500-750 wolves. By 2004, the population had grown to an estimated 3,020 wolves. Over time, conflicts between wolves and livestock increased. Wolf depredation control programs have been conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (1975-1986) and by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program (1986 to present). In 1978, Minnesota’s wolves were reclassified from endangered to threatened which allowed authorized federal agents to lethally remove wolves that had depredated on livestock or pets. A State funded wolf compensation program was also established in 1978. Wildlife Services’ wolf damage management approach utilizes both nonlethal and lethal methods of control. Currently, wolf depredations are verified at 60-85 farms annually and 125-175 wolves are taken each year. Wolf compensation payments to livestock producers have averaged $67,111 per year during the past five years. Most livestock losses occur during spring and summer. Selective removal of depredating wolves, coupled with improvements in animal husbandry practices, has potential for reducing wolf-livestock conflicts. Minnesota’s wolf population is currently considered to be fully recovered and federal delisting is expected to occur in the near future.

Internacionalização de empresas e o fechamento do capital : um estudo sobre a deslistagem no mercado brasileiro

This work contributes to the finance literature proposing to analyze the relationship between the degree of internationalization of Brazilian companies and the likelihood of delisting. Therefore, even though the internationalization as a differential, in the formulation of hypotheses and analysis of the relationship between the variables dealt with concepts and theories within the Corporate Governance, which is already established in theory when it comes to delisting. First, with a view to the theory of internalization, which gives competitive advantages to the company due the adoption internationalization strategy and in parallel to the positive effects that this strategy generates on firms performance, it was formulated an hypothesis that the degree of internationalization would be adversely related to the probability of delisting, mainly due to such benefits generated to the organization. In turn, as an alternative hypothesis of the research, it proposed a positive relationship between these variables, based on agency theory, according to which internationalization would contribute to delisting by increasing geographical separation between shareholders and managers and, consequently, agency conflicts and the difficulty of monitoring. For the achievement of objectives, as well as being included economic and financial variables and GC, it was proposed the analysis of periods of crisis, as the events of recent past of the Brazilian economy. Starting from a base model initially developed by Pour and Lasfer (2013), which later, the proxies of internationalization and crisis have been added also contemplating adjustments to the Brazilian context. The data collected include the period from 2006 to 2014 and information on active and inactive companies at Bovespa. As results, it was found negative significance between the degree of internationalization and the delisting decision, confirming the first hypothesis of the research and stating that the benefits generated by internationalization in the company generate it spreads and results that reduce the probability of delisting. By analyzing the results of control variables was still possible to observe that, even internationalization reducing the likelihood of delisting, by particular aspects of corporate governance in Brazil, such as the high ownership concentration, the benefits it generates contribute to delisting. Regarding the analysis in crisis, the consequences of the crisis of the US subprime in general market were more relevant that the occurrence of itself, unlike the Brazilian internal crisis of 2014, which was statistically significant for the analyzed event. For future researches it is suggested the expansion of database and individual treatment of the reasons adopted by a company when delisting decision.