Thèses sur le sujet « Financial distress. Capital structure. Acquisitions »

This dissertation bundles three essays in the area of corporate finance. It deals with two main issues: capital structure decisions in financially distressed firms and the role of the investor identity on the acquisition performance. The first essay is a literature review about equity issues as a means to recover from financial distress. The study provides, firstly, an overview of the extant literature on capital structure theory and financial distress in order to deepen the understanding of how a firm can resolve its financial constraints. On the one hand, some of the most important contributions in capital structure theory are reviewed with a specific focus on equity issues. On the other hand, financial distress is discussed examining the main solutions adopted by distressed firms in order to reorganize (i.e. formal in court proceedings and private reorganizations). Finally, it is discussed a possible gap in capital structure theory and financial distress literature arguing that most of previous research, in the attempt to explain the occurrence of equity issues, just focused on firm specific determinants. With the aim to provide a further perspective for future research, the study examines a series of contributions that consider how capital structure decisions can be affected by external determinants related to the legal system in which the firm operates. These works are aggregated to the discussion in order to suggests a conceptual framework suitable to explain equity issues in financial distress through the integrations of capital structure theory with Law literature. The second essay is a theoretical and empirical investigation on equity issues in distressed firms. Specifically, I explore the effectiveness of equity issue as a means to recover from distress. I argue the relationship between equity issues and recovery controlling for the legal system in which the firm operates. Central to the thesis is the role of the Bankruptcy Law on the firm’s propensity to issue equity which varies according to the legal protection of the creditors. Controlling for this exogenous factor allows me to explain how recovery is affected by the issuance of equity. This study contributes to both capital structure theory and financial distress literature providing evidence on how the capital structure decision to issue equity can drive the process of firm’s recovery from distress. Then, it suggests an alternative explanation of the decision to issue equity in distress arguing the relevance of the legal system as a determinant of this choice. The hypotheses are tested on a sample of 70 firms that recovered from financial distress in 49 countries. The sample is divided in to 34 distressed firms who recovered issuing equity and 36 firms who recovered without an equity issue. Results show that the legal system matters for understanding the occurrence of equity issues in distress; they are more likely to occur in countries with a debtor friendly legal system. Conditionally to the incidence of the law on the firm’s choice to issue equity, equity issues positively affect the firm’s recovery from distress. The third study is a theoretical and empirical examination about the relationship between the buyer identity and the acquisition performance. This relationship is argued advancing and testing the idea that different identities of the buyer, specifically strategic or financial investors, have different effects on the performance of the target firm after an acquisition. We suggest that the different resource and knowledge base of the buyer, i.e. its identity, drives the target performance: on the one hand it affects the innovative output and so the patenting activity of the target, on the other hand it has an impact on the economic results of the acquired firm. This study contributes to literature on M&A by providing a complementary explanation of M&A performance, unraveling how the identity of the buyer can play a significant role in driving post-acquisition performance. Moreover, it suggests a more complete analysis of the deal’s output considering both the innovative and the economic output. The study relies on a sample of 234 acquisitions in any industry completed between 2006 and 2011. Results show that the identity of the buyer has a direct effect on the performance of the target firm after the acquisition. The results also highlight how identity has a different impact regarding to the different measures of performance: whilst the strategic buyers, moved by the interest for additional knowledge and technology, tend to integrate their capabilities with target fostering innovative processes and improving the innovative performance, the financial buyers use to undertake deals in order to maximize their profits at the expense of the innovative performance. Different evidences emerge for the economic performance of the involved firm which is positively affected by financial buyers respect to strategic ones since they induce the target firm to undertake highly risky and long term investments in R&D. The two papers of this dissertation have been presented at international Conferences on management such as EURAM 2014 (European Academy of Management) and BAM 2015 (British Academy of Management). The papers will be submitted to journals soon.

This research project set out to determine whether there is a relationship between the observed leverage levels of South African companies, their profitability, earnings volatility and the probability of financial distress. The relevant body of knowledge against which to execute this research project is known as capital structure theory. Capital structure theory deals with the way in which firms finance themselves. It is concerned with the relationship between the structure of debt, equity and hybrid securities found on the right hand side of the firm’s balance sheet. It is believed that the 2007/8 global financial crisis offers researchers a unique opportunity to gain insight into how the observed leverage levels of firms and their earnings volatility interact to form their probability of financial distress. This area of research is of particular interest since it is commonly believed and frequently stated that South African firms are underleveraged and secondly because there is contrarian research beginning to be published indicating that firms with very little or no debt (commonly referred to as lazy balance sheets) are outperforming their more indebted peers and are being rewarded by investors for their prudence. Copyright
Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2011.
Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)
unrestricted

This thesis explores the impact of capital structure and financial media on Mergers and Acquisitions. The empirical evidence on this thesis demonstrates that firm’s capital structure and financial media are both significantly related to the M&A success and M&A performances. Chapter 3 empirically investigates the interaction between a bidder’s capital structure and the probability of M&A success. It suggests that bidders with great leverage deficit are less likely to be successful in M&A. The potential explanation is that overleveraged bidders are unable to provide attractive takeover offers with high premiums and thus reducing the probability of success. Chapter 4 further studies the implications of capital structure theory for M&A. The empirical evidence shows that bidder’s leverage deficit is negatively related to the probability of using pure cash payment. This implies that firms may actively rebalance their financial leverage to optimal level through M&A. Overleveraged bidders are less likely to use cash payment since they are willing to reduce their deficit level by acquiring targets with equity. By contrast, underleveraged bidders have more incentive to use cash payment because they tend to increase their debt level. Chapter 4 also shows that bidder’s capital structure has large impact on the merging firms’ stock performances in both short term and long term. Therefore bidder’s capital structure is considered as an important determinant for M&A performance. In addition, Chapter 5 further examines the relation between M&A performance and financial media. It reports that bidders with positive media attitude in pre-merger period are significantly outperformance than those with negative media attitude. It concludes that the pre-merger news released by influential financial media has large impact on market reactions to M&A announcements. Furthermore, the empirical evidence suggests that financial media is able to partially predict merging firm’s long term stock performance. Overall, our research in this thesis contributes to the literature with conclusive evidence that the considerations of capital structure and financial media provide further understandings with M&A performances.

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Finance from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics
This case describes the events that took place in Vista Alegre during the last two decades (1989-2007). This historic Portuguese company is dedicated mainly to the manufacture of ‘table art’ products, gaining enormous prestige on national territory due to the excellence of its products. However, this prestige was not sufficient to sustain the company, as this case shows. Information can be found in this case regarding the strategic decisions made by the company based on growth and major investment in new equipment in order to create a truly international group. However, this strategy did not generate the expected outcome and even resulted in the group's steep downfall which would end in the takeover bid launched by Visabeira at the beginning of 2009.

Financial and output market decisions are crucial to the success or failure of an or- ganization. These decisions are influenced by the dynamic and competitive economic environment in which firms operate and, in turn, affect the ability of firms to meet their debt obligations. This thesis is constituted by three separate but interrelated essays which explore the impact of financial and operating decisions on the default risk. The first two essays study the equilibrium default probability, in a two-stage differentiated product duopoly model with uncertainty, where firms decide their financial structure in the first stage and their quantities in the second stage. These two essays analyze the impact of changes in the parameters of the model, on the equilibrium default probability (the first essay uses com- parative statics tools while the second uses numerical simulation). The impact of changes in the uncertainty level, in the degree of product substitutability, in the marginal costs and in the default cost on the financing and output decisions and on the default risk are analyzed. The third essay tests empirical the relationship between market structure and capital structure decisions and their relationship with the default probability using a sam- ple of eleven members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The three essays reach a coherent set of conclusions. In particular, they show that uncertainty, market structure and default costs influence financial and product market de- cisions and the probability of default. Moreover, they show that the default probability is influenced directly by the parameters, but it is also influenced by the way firms optimally adjust their financial and product market decisions when the parameters change. There- fore a less favorable environment does not necessarily imply higher default probability, as firms may respond by financing less with debt; RESUMO:Decisões financeiras e no mercado do produto são cruciais para o sucesso ou falência de uma organização. Estas decisões são influenciadas pelo ambiente econômico, dinâmico e competitivo em que as empresas operam e, por sua vez, afetam a capacidade das empresas cumprirem suas obrigações. Esta tese é constituída por três ensaios distintos, mas interrelacionados que exploram o impacto das decisões financeiras e operacionais sobre o risco de incumprimento. Os dois primeiros ensaios estudam a probabilidade de incumprimento de equilíbrio, num modelo duopólio, com produtos diferenciados, com dois estágios e com incerteza, onde as em- presas no primeiro estágio decidem a sua estrutura financeira, e no segundo estágio as suas quantidades. Estes dois ensaios analisam o impacto de alterações dos parâmetros do modelo na probabilidade de incumprimento de equilíbrio (o primeiro ensaio usa ferra- mentas de estática comparada, enquanto o segundo usa simulação numérica). É analisado o impacto de mudanças no nível de incerteza, no grau de substituibilidade do produto, nos custos marginais e no custo de incumprimento sobre as decisões de financiamento e de produção, e sobre o risco de incumprimento. O terceiro ensaio testa empíricamente a relação entre estrutura de mercado e as decisões da estrutura de capital e a sua relação com a probabilidade de incumprimento, utilizando uma amostra de onze membros da Organização para a Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Económico (OCDE). Os três ensaios chegam a um conjunto coerente de conclusões. Nomeadamente, mostram que a incerteza, a estrutura de mercado e custos de incumprimento infuenciam as decisões financeiras e no mercado do produto e a probabilidade de incumprimento. Além disso, mostram que a probabilidade de incumprimento é infuênciada diretamente pelos parâmetros , mas também é infuênciada pela forma como as empresas ajustam de forma ótima as suas decisões financeiras e no mercado do produto quando os parâmetros alteram. Por conseguinte, um ambiente menos favorável não significa necessariamente maior probabilidade de incumprimento, uma vez que as empresas podem responder financiando-se com menos dívida

This thesis examines the link between mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and corporate financial leverage. The thesis proposes and tests various hypotheses regarding: (1) the relationship between the probability of firms undertaking M&As and corporate financial leverage; and (2) the changes in financial leverage prior to firms' decision to initiate M&As. The empirical evidence on the proposed hypotheses is based on a large sample of firms in the UK during the period 1996 and 2006. The empirical analysis presented in this study contributes to the large and growing body of literature on the interdependence of corporate financing and investment decisions. Specifically, this study contributes to the literature in two ways. First, the thesis investigates the link between firms leverage deviations (i.e. the deviations of firms observed leverage ratios from target leverage ratios) and the probability of undertaking M&As in the future. Building upon the earlier literature, it is argued that extreme leverage deviations lower the probability of undertaking M&As by impairing firms ability to raise capital to finance these deals. The study s empirical analyses suggest that extremely overleveraged firms have lower probability of undertaking M&As. Moreover, the link between extreme overleverage and the probability of undertaking M&As is weaker for diversification-increasing acquisitions (i.e. deals in which the acquirer and the target firm operate in different industries); for domestic acquisitions (i.e. deals in which the acquirer and the target firm are domiciled in the same country); and for focused (i.e. single-segment) firms undertaking acquisitions. Thus, the leverage deviation effect is not symmetric for all types of acquisitions and for all firms. Second, the thesis examines how the pre-acquisition changes in corporate financial leverage may be influenced by: (1) the extent to which firms deviate from their target leverage ratios; and (2) firms intentions to initiate M&As. Key empirical findings in this section suggest that firms that have higher leverage deviations adjust their leverage at a higher rate than those with lower deviations. More importantly, the empirical evidence suggests that firms that undertake M&As adjust their pre-acquisition leverage at a higher rate than those that do not. These findings suggest that, when making adjustments to corporate capital structure, managers tend to consider their firms leverage deviations and their future acquisition plans. Furthermore, the study s findings partly explain the differences in the speeds of financial leverage adjustments reported in the existing literature.

The globalization leads to integration of the economies worldwide. As the firms'
businesses also get integrated with each other, the financing choices of the firms diversify. Among these choices, the popularity and the share of foreign currency borrowing in total borrowing by non-financial firms increase in Turkey similar to the global developments. The main purpose of this thesis is to price the risks of default and financial distress due to foreign currency denominated loans of non-financial firms in Turkey. The valuation model of foreign currency corporate loans is established by two state variable option pricing model based on the study of Cox, Ingersoll and Ross. In our model, the main risk factors are identified as the exchange rate and the interest rate, which are the state variables of the main partial differential equation whose solution gives the value of the asset. The numerical results are tested for different parameters and for different economic environments. The findings show that interest rate fluctuations are more important both for the default and financial distress option values than the fluctuations in exchange rate. However, the effect of upside movements of exchange rate on the financial distress and default values is sharper than the downside movement effect of interest rate. Furthermore, high loan-to-value (LTV) foreign currency loans result in significantly high financial distress values that cannot be disregarded and can lead to default of the firm. To the best of our knowledge, this thesis is the first study that develops a structural model to evaluate foreign currency denominated corporate loans in an option-pricing framework.

The financial crisisand the European debt crisis wreaked havoc on many European economies and stock markets. Previous studies have shown that crises are associated with high debt and linked with lower growth. Studies also suggest that politicians underestimate the risks associated with high debt during economic upturn and that economic crises are usually connected with high volatility. Volatility is used as a measurement of risk since high volatility indicates larger market uncertainty of the valuation of the underlying asset. Previous studies have shown that volatility can be a good indication of a firm’s riskiness. As volatility and capital structure both relate to risk and are influenced by market reactions, investigating the impact that capital structure has on volatility during times of global financial market distress could provide insight and be an important tool for investors. This thesis will investigate firms listed on the Stockholm stock exchange, divided into seven industries, in order to find the impact capital structure may have on volatility, before, during and in the aftermath of the recent European debt crisis (2006-2016). The study will use a quantitative research method, with an objectivistic and positivistic research philosophy as well as a deductive research approach. By using multiple regression models, theoretical relations surrounding volatility and capital structure will be contrasted to the results of the study.The results of the study finds that capital structure does not play a significant part inchanges in volatility for firms during any investigated period when testing for all firms simultaneously. However, the same claim cannot be made for when each industry is tested individually. Empirical evidence showed that capital structure is a influencer for changes in volatility for the consumer goods industry prior to and after the debt crisis and in the consumer goods service industry after the debt crisis. Investors are urged to not be concerned by large debt levels, as long as they invest in largefirms and choose the right sectors. The financial sector is seen as the least risky, with low volatility levels. Furthermore, the basic material sector, despite outward appearances, should be avoided as it presents recent periods of unusually large volatility levels.

This paper describes and develops a trade off model of optimal capital structure by Bradley et al. (1984). The model is then tested to examine how changes in corporate tax rates affect the optimal capital structure of firms. Based on theoretical implications of the model, four hypotheses are derived stating that firms’ optimal debt-to-value ratio is (1) negatively related to financial distress costs, (2) negatively related to non-debt tax shields, (3) negatively related to firm volatility and (4) positively related to the corporate tax rate. Based on the results of two regression models applied on 753 Scandinavian and German firms, we find empirical support for hypothesis 1 and 3 while we find no empirical support for hypothesis 2 and 4. These results can be explained by problematic empirical proxies and in the light of the pecking-order theory.

碩士
中國文化大學
國際企業管理研究所
91
The purpose of this paper is to find out the factors that influence the capital structure of financial distress companies. Although numerous attempts have been made by scholars to show many factors that significantly affect a firm’s capital structure, these research focuses on those result in financial distress and relation between factors and the capital structure. This study selects 10 factors to be independent variables, including operating risk, growth, corporate size, dividend policy, profitability, non-tax shield, secured debt, infla-tion, the capital market situation, the monetary market situation, and the dependent variables was total debt ratio. In order to examine my hypothesis, there were 89 samples (from 2000 to 2001)obtained from Taiwan Securities and Futures Institution Data Base, using Regres-sion Analysis and the following results were obtained： 1.Corporate sizes have positive relation with the capital structure of financial distress companies. 2.Secured debt has positive relation with the capital structure of financial distress companies. 3.Non-tax shield have negative relation with the capital structure of financial dis-tress companies. 4.dividend policy has positive relation with the capital structure of financial dis-tress companies.

碩士
東吳大學
國際經營與貿易學系
105
In this research, we discuss about the relevance between corporate governance, capital structure, and financial crisis. We mainly focus on the listed companies and make econometric analysis by using multiple regression model, Panel Data model, and Logistic regression model. The results are as follows. First, when supervisors and managers have higher shareholding, they have consistent interest orientation as the company. However, the higher ratio managers hold, the more indifferent they are toward benefit of the company for the sake of better guarantee, and cause higher risk of financial crisis. Second, the empirical results display that when the shareholding ratio of chairman, supervisors, and managers of the board gets higher, which means the company operating isn’t well, and more exposure to financial crisis from TCRI criterion. The more independent directors a company owns, the better they can prevent the company from financial crisis. Third, when the company performance isn’t well, decline of total asset turnover, rise of debt and leverage ratio, and lack of cash flow all indicate to the worsen financial status. The above does help the investors insight the sign of financial crisis.

碩士
淡江大學
會計學系碩士在職專班
98
In recent years, many enterprises have crisis, academics and practitioners are believed to strengthen corporate governance (CG) is a solution. Previous studies always use financial ratios to construct financial distress warning models. But the accounting numbers often been modified, which will reduce the accuracy of the information. CG and capital structure (CS) are related each other in some studies. Therefore, I expected to join the CG variables and the CG and CS interacting variables to establish a better model. This study use data from 2006 to 2009 in the Taiwan listed companies to construct and test models. The results showed that the model has the better prediction ability while it involves CG variables, CG and CS interacting variables. Also found that corporate governance and financial distress are significant. Therefore, the financial distress may occur when poor corporate governance has existed.

碩士
義守大學
管理科學研究所
88
This study will to test the relation between factors affecting capital structure, capital structure and voluntary restructuring to financial distress company. In a sample of Taiwan Stock Market’s firms that financial distress for two years. Much of research on corporate financial restructuring has examined the causes and aftermath of extreme changes in corporate governance such as takeovers and bankruptcy. This Study restructuring initiated in response to product market pressures by voluntary restructuring, such employee layoff, assets restructuring, top management replacement, change dividend policy and debt restructuring. In past research discuss the relation between capital structure and restructuring, or analysis the factors affecting capital structure That is single equation model. But all of manage problems is not a single equation can solve. So this study will use Linear Structure Relationships（to simplify LISREL）to explain the relation of factors affecting capital structure, capital structure, and voluntary restructuring to financial distress corporation. The LISREL models including the structural equations models that can solve simultaneous equations. Great majority of measure variable in factors affecting capital structure, capital structure, and voluntary restructuring are numerous and difference. The LISREL models specify the causal relationships among the latent variables, describe the causal effects, and assign the explained and unexplained variance. This study will use LISREL models to verify the relation of factors affecting capital structure, capital structure, and voluntary restructuring to financial distress corporation. It is hoped that this research will contribute to better solve method to manager, creditor, and investor.

碩士
逢甲大學
國際貿易所
99
Abstract In general, we assume that the firms’ goal is to maximize firm value. The manager face the different costs between debt and equity funds, and they must considerate to divide between the two kinds of funds. It will face the decision of capital structure. Capital structure is meaningful for firm value and fund cost , so that the decision of capital structure essentially is the decision of the maximum of firm value. Regarding to the discussion of capital structure of firm, recently it focuses on two main theories : tradeoff theory and pecking order theory. Tradeoff theory describes that firm’s leverage is determined by tax benefits of debt and deadweight costs of bankruptcy. And under the agency problem, manager will use equity funds at the same time to support investment. Hence, it will exist a optimal capital structure. In the other hand, pecking order theory describes a hierarchy of financing choice a firm makes due to information asymmetry. Firms will prefer internal funds to external funds , and prefer debt to equity funds. Financial distress is a signal of bankruptcy, and it will have a negative impact on firm value. It will reduce firm value, and lead to the limit of fund used. And it will influence the decision of capital structure. The research consider financial distress to test whether financial distress have impact on firms capital structure. And the result shows that financial distress have no significance impact on capital structure. Final, the research finds that capital structure of financial distress firms would follow the trade-off theory.

碩士
國立交通大學
管理科學系所
98
Most previous researches study the capital adjustment behaviors only for firms that are financial health. Scholars in the past have showed that level of leverage is highly correlated with distress risk. This means that the capital adjustment issue is much more important for distress firms. This paper uses Taiwan firms’ data and the GMM estimation technique to study the differences of dynamic capital structure adjustment behaviors between financial health and financial distress companies. We also derive the capital structure deviation level and combine it with the financial distress prediction model to study the effect of deviation to the distress risk. Our main findings are listed below. First, distress firms do not adjust their total debt to target level. On the contrary, they deviate from the optimal value with a fast speed. Not like the distress firms, financial health firms do adjust their total debt to target leverage. Second, overuse of long-term debt is a common characteristic for distress firms. For these firms, we discover a phenomenon that distress companies tend to use current debt to refund the long-term debt in order to eliminate the bankruptcy risk before the distress events. An appropriate explanation for this phenomenon is that firms which fall into distress usually don’t have enough own capital, and they can only take a higher cost of capital to issue new equity or bond securities. For that reason, the most possible way for these companies to eliminate long-term debt is through the issue of new current debt. This means that no mater firms are in danger or not, they will adjust their long-term debt levels to the optimal value. But for current debt, distress companies will chose to omit the optimal value and use more and more current debt for the purpose listing above. Third, the result of combining the deviation level with financial distress prediction model indicates that there exists a significant positive relationship between the bankrupt risk and the capital structure deviation level. This means that the overuse of leverage would raise the risk to bankrupt. This is consistent with the trade-off theory. Fourth, the result of building financial distress prediction model shows that the model with internal corporate governance variables has better ability to discriminate financial distress corporations form healthy ones. The ownerships for big stockholders, directors, and supervisors are negative correlated with the distress risk significantly, and there is a positive relationship between pledge ratio and distress risk with statistic significance.

Following no strict legal or institutional definition, restructurings relate to renegotiations of within the firm - as a nexus of contracts - combined agreements. This cumulative dissertation focuses on renegotiations that are triggered by financial distress and that are conducted with current or potential debt- and shareholders. In form of a literature review, the first manuscript systematizes the bargaining dynamics between existing capital providers and their influence on the choice for in- or out-of-court firm reorganizations in Germany and the United States. How the renegotiations of existing payment obligations are reflected in financial instruments accounting according to the IFRS and the capital structure of the distressed firm is further elaborated in a case-based instructional resource. The second part of the dissertation discusses restructurings through the acquisition of the distressed target. Specifically, the phenomenon of negative goodwill is studied that arises in business combinations with acquisition costs that are lower than the fair value of the targets’ net assets. For the exemplary case of Germany, manuscripts three and four examine the frequency, materiality and reasons for the by the IASB as anomalous acclaimed phenomenon together with investors’ reactions to such transactions.:I. Restructuring Under Distress, Essays on Corporate Finance and Financial Reporting: An Overview 1. Introduction 2. Overview and Findings References II. Capital Structure and the Choice Between In- and Out-of-Court Reorganization: A Literature Review 1. Introduction 2. Theoretical Background on Reorganization Choices 3. Methodology 4. Analysis 5. Research Implications and Discussion 6. Conclusion References III. The Hardest Cycle Climb at TCC: A Financial Instruments Case 1. Case Manuscript 2. Case Guidance 3. Case Solutions References IV. Frequency of and Reasons for Bargain Purchases: Evidence From Germany 1. Introduction 2. Conceptual Background 3. Empirical Evidence 4. Conclusion and Avenues for Future Research References V. Does Underpayment Pay the Acquirer? An Event Study on Bargain Purchases 1. Introduction 2. Conceptual Background 3. Prior Literature 4. Sample Selection 5. Methodology 6. Results 7. Conclusion References

This study examines the divide between finance theory and practice by analysing the significance of the determinants of capital structure choice among 123 listed firms on the JSE, to determine whether these firms follow the trade-off theory or the pecking-order theory. Data obtained from McGregor’s Bureau of Financial Analysis database was analysed using standard multiple regressions, stepwise regressions and ANOVA techniques to test for financing behaviour. The results indicated that the trade-off model has both cross-sectional and time-series explanatory power for explaining the financing behaviour, while tests on the pecking-order model were weak. The results further revealed a significant positive correlation between debt financing and financial distress, and a significant negative correlation between debt financing and the collateral value of assets during the period under study (1995-2005). These findings suggest a divergence between finance theory and practice for JSE listed firms and manifest conflicting ideologies between finance practices of developed and developing economies.
Business management
M. Com. (Business Management )

碩士
國立交通大學
財務金融研究所
101
Most studies about capital structure and its impact on firm failure have focused on the leverage, but seldom do they talk about influences of leverage adjustment. Firms have different financial plans, business strategies and behaviors of capital structure adjustment in different stages of life cycle, so at firstwe grouped the financial distressed firms and healthy firms into three types as growth, mature, and stagnant, and then compared the difference of their behaviors of capital structure adjustment. In addition, we research on the relationships among deviation from the optimal capital structure, corporate governance, and financial distress by introducing deviation and corporate governance into prediction models.

JEL classification: G32: Financing Policy • Financial Risk and Risk Management • Capital and Ownership Structure • Value of Firms • Goodwill G34: Mergers • Acquisitions • Restructuring • Corporate Governance
Num momento em que os mercados bolsistas norte americanos estão a níveis record, com o Dow Jones acima dos 18000 pontos e o S&P 500 dos 2100 pontos, o tema em apreço surge com naturalidade ao ter-se verificado após um período de grande estagnação um aumento no número e valor dos IPO nos mercados norte-americanos no pós crise do subprime. Este facto associado a um grande volume de investimentos de empresas de Private Equity antes da crise do sub-prime em operações record em termos de montante por deal, como o LBO da Hilton Hotels Corporation com um EV de 26 mil milhões de USD, cuja performance operacional e a posterior saída ficaram condicionadas pelo ciclo económico depois de 2008, surgem atualmente com uma evolução positiva dentro de um contexto favorável da economia norte-americana. É neste enquadramento que surge o caso: “ Blackstone at the Gates? Hilton LBO”, que visa estudar o Leveraged-Buy-Out da Hilton Worldwide (“HW”) em apreço cujo desenrolar, desde a sua realização em 2007, passando pela reestruturação de dívida ocorrida em 2010, e pela posterior recolocação em bolsa em 2013. Assim este caso não é mais do que um desafiante reflexo de, como o contexto setorial e macroeconómico poderão ter influência na performance empresarial, sendo esse o ponto de partida deste caso que irá combinar conteúdos de private equity, avaliação e reestruturação de empresas, políticas de gestão das mesmas em termos de criação de valor, otimização balanço e de folha de resultados e relacionamento com os mercados de capitais. Adicionalmente, é ainda abordada a viabilidade de replicação do LBO da Hilton Worldwide com a congénere europeia Meliá Hotels International, descrito no companion case “Bárbaros en la Puerta, La Caída de Meliá”, onde se perspetiva a performance que uma operação semelhante poderá obter num espaço de saída do investimento de 5 anos.
The Hilton LBO with its 26 billion price tag was one the large investments of private equity firms before the sub-prime crisis, whose operating performance and the exit output were conditioned by the economic cycle after 2008.With a current favourable US economic context, combined with record levels at North American stock markets, the topic covered in this project follows a natural increase in number and value of IPO’s in US markets after the sub-prime crisis. It is in this context arises the case study, "Blackstone at the Gates? Hilton LBO ", which aims to study the Leveraged buy-out of Hilton Worldwide ("HW") with a focus on progress of HW LBO since its start in 2007, passing through debt restructuring and subsequent replacement on the stock exchange in 2013. This case study is a challenging reflex, as how the sectorial and macro economic context may have influence on business performance which is the starting point of this case. Amongst its content, there will be a combination of a broad range of topics: private equity, valuation, restructuring of companies, management policies in terms of value creation, balance and income sheet structure, and relationship with the capital markets. Furthermore, it will also be discussed the feasibility of Hilton Worldwide LBO replication with European counterpart Meliá Hotels International, described in the companion case "Bárbaros en la Puerta, La Caída de Melia". This particular case prospects the performance of a similar operation with a 5 years’ timeframe