A real options approach to tender offers and acquisitions processes

Corporate control has added value for an investor since it gives degrees of freedom about the use of assets, sources of finance, salaries, etc. On the other hand, real options create value through the flexibility associated to the ability to react to some relevant uncertainty. The process of acquisition of corporate control can have two real options associated, a waiting option and a growth option. In the waiting option value is created through sequential investment instead of investing at once, while the growth option carries all the private benefits the investor can seize from control by making follow up investments, which can also justify premiums paid above the former market price. A relevant proposition of our paper is that the exercise price of the growth option (and hence the amount to be paid as the control premium) can be affected by the release of information. We develop a model for these two theoretical extremes, one where the exercise price fully reacts to events, and one where the exercise price does not react at all, and we obtain that the timing of the process of acquiring control would depend on the reaction of the price to be paid to obtain control, so would the size of the control premium over the former price.

From Stochastic Optics to the Wigner Formalism: The Role of the Vacuum Field in Optical Quantum Communication Experiments

The Wigner formalism in the Heisenberg picture constitutes a bridge that connects Quantum Optics to Stochastic Optics. The vacuum field appears explicitly in the formalism, and the wavelike aspects of light are emphasised. In addition, the zeropoint intensity as a threshold for detection is a common denominator in both theories. In this paper, after summarising the basic rules of the Wigner approach and its application to parametric down-conversion, some new results are presented that delve into the physical meaning of the zeropoint field in optical quantum communication. Specifically, the relationship between Bell-state distinguishability and the number of sets of zeropoint modes that take part in the experiment is analysed in terms of the coupling between the phases of the different fields involved and the subtraction of the zeropoint intensity at the detectors. Additionally, the connection between the compatibility theorem in quantum cryptography and zeropoint field is stressed

How effective are rewards programs in promoting payment card usage? Empirical evidence

Card issuers have mainly relied on rewards programs as their main strategic driver to increase electronic payments. However, there is scarce evidence on the effectiveness of rewards programs. This paper offers novel evidence on two key issues: i) it measures the impact of rewards programs on the use of payment cards; and ii) it quantifies their economic impact in terms of the cash substitution. The results show that rewards may significantly modify preferences for card payments, their economic impact vary significantly across types of rewards and merchant activities and rewards seem to be more effective on average for debit cardholders. JEL Classification: G20, D12, E41cardholders, merchants, payment cards, preferences, rewards

AdS/QCD Modified Soft Wall Model and Light Meson Spectra

We analyze here the mass spectrum of light vector and scalar mesons applying a novel approach where a modified soft wall model that includes a UV-cutoff at a finite $z$-position in the AdS space is used, thus introducing an extra energy scale. For this model, we found that the masses for the scalar and vector spectra are well fitted within $\delta_{RMS}=7.64\%$ for these states, with non-linear trajectories given by two common parameters, the UV locus $z_{0}$ and the quadratic dilaton profile slope $\kappa$. We also conclude that in this model, the $f_{0}(500)$ scalar resonance cannot be fitted holographycally as a $q\overline{q}$ state since we cannot find a trajectory that include this pole. This result is in agreement with the most recent phenomenological and theoretical methods.Comment: 4 pages, no figures, conference pape

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Lead and Lithium in Liquid Phase

Pb17Li is today a reference breeder material in diverse fusion R&D programs worldwide. Extracting dynamic and structural properties of liquid LiPb mixtures via molecular dynamics simulations, represent a crucial step for multiscale modeling efforts in order to understand the suitability of this compound for future Nuclear Fusion technologies. At present a Li-Pb cross potential is not available in the literature. Here we present our first results on the validation of two semi-empirical potentials for Li and Pb in liquid phase. Our results represent the establishment of a solid base as a previous but crucial step to implement a LiPb cross potential. Structural and thermodynamical analyses confirm that the implemented potentials for Li and Pb are realistic to simulate both elements in the liquid phase

Interfacial tension behavior of binary and ternary mixtures of partially miscible Lennard-Jones fluids: a molecular dynamics simulation

By means of extensive equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations we have investigated, the behavior of the interfacial tension $\gamma$ of two immiscible symmetrical Lennard-Jones fluids. This quantity is studied as function of reduced temperature $T^{*}={{k_{_B} T}\over \epsilon}$ in the range $0.6 \leq T^{*} \leq 3.0$. We find that, unlike the monotonic decay obtained for the liquid-vapor interfacial tension, for the liquid-liquid interface, $\gamma (T)$ has a maximum at a specific temperature. We also investigate the effect that surfactant-like particles has on the thermodynamic as well as the structural properties of the liquid-liquid interface. It is found that $\gamma$ decays monotonically as the concentration of the surfactant-like particles increases.Comment: LaTeX-Revtex file with 7 encapsulated postscript figures. Accepted for publication in Journal of Chemical Physic