National Corporate Governance Institutions and Post-Acquisition Target Reorganization

We examine the characteristics of national systems of corporate governance to theorize about the nature of the shareholders\u27 and employees\u27 interests when it comes to reorganization, under the assumption that the firm is coalitional in nature. We argue that corporate governance institutions prevalent in both the host and the target country of the merging firms enable or constrain the ability of the acquirer to reorganize the target. Using a cross-national dataset of corporate acquisitions and post-acquisition reorganization, we found support for our predictions that stronger legal protection of shareholder rights in the acquirer country compared to the target country increases the acquirer\u27s ability to restructure the target\u27s assets and leverage the target\u27s resources, while the protection of employee rights in the target country restricts the acquirer\u27s ability to restructure the target\u27s assets and redeploy resources to and from the target. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells inhibit natural killer cell functions in a transforming growth factor–β–dependent manner

Tumor growth promotes the expansion of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T (T reg) cells that counteract T cell–mediated immune responses. An inverse correlation between natural killer (NK) cell activation and T reg cell expansion in tumor-bearing patients, shown here, prompted us to address the role of T reg cells in controlling innate antitumor immunity. Our experiments indicate that human T reg cells expressed membrane-bound transforming growth factor (TGF)–β, which directly inhibited NK cell effector functions and down-regulated NKG2D receptors on the NK cell surface. Adoptive transfer of wild-type T reg cells but not TGF-β−/− T reg cells into nude mice suppressed NK cell–mediated cytotoxicity, reduced NKG2D receptor expression, and accelerated the growth of tumors that are normally controlled by NK cells. Conversely, the depletion of mouse T reg cells exacerbated NK cell proliferation and cytotoxicity in vivo. Human NK cell–mediated tumor recognition could also be restored by depletion of T reg cells from tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. These findings support a role for T reg cells in blunting the NK cell arm of the innate immune system

Les mécanismes de création de valeur au sein des fusions horizontales: Test des théories fondées sur les économies d'échelle, le pouvoir de marché et le partage de ressources stratégiques

This dissertation aims to investigate the different mechanisms of value creation within horizontal mergers. Three theoretical perspectives are considered : 1) the micro-economic approach based on scale economies, 2) the IO approach based on the notion of market power, and 3) the resource-based view of the firm. The results show the relevance to take into account the resource-based view to account for motivations of horizontal mergers and to validate the limitations associated with traditional theories based on economy of scale and market powerLa présente thèse vise à examiner les différents mécanismes de création de valeur au sein d'une fusion horizontale. Les sources de création de valeur étudiées proviennent des trois approches théoriques suivantes : 1) une approche micro-économique classique fondée sur la notion d'économie d'échelle, 2) une perspective issue de l'économie industrielle reposant sur la notion de pouvoir de marché, et 3) une approche plus récente centrée sur les ressources de l'entreprise. Les résultats de la recherche valident l'intérêt de considérer la théorie de la ressource comme une explication des fusions horizontales et confirment également le bien-fondé des limites théoriques émises à l'égard des approches traditionnelles reposant sur les notions d'économie d'échelle et de pouvoir de march