Why are shareholders not paid to give up their voting privileges? Unique evidence from Italy

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Corporate Finance
Year: 2011
Volume: 17
Issue: 5
Pages: 1619-1635

Score contribution per author:

0.670 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Dual-class share unifications have typically been argued to be beneficial for voting shareholders, who are usually compensated for the loss of their superior voting privileges. However, no covenants exist that make this compensation mandatory for voting shareholders. In this paper, we examine a subset of dual class share unifications from Italy where, in the main, voting shareholders are not offered any compensation in lieu of the loss of their superior voting rights. We present a simple model describing the conditions under which the controlling voting shareholder will choose not to offer compensation to minority voting shareholders as part of a share unification. Our empirical results support the model predictions.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:corfin:v:17:y:2011:i:5:p:1619-1635
Journal Field
Finance
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-24