De eerste Kamer, of: de zin van rivaliteit

Rede uitgesproken door Prof.dr. J.Th.J. van den Berg Ter gelegenheid van zijn afscheid als hoogleraar Parlementaire Geschiedenis aan de Universiteit Leiden op 29 september 2006Populariserende publicati

Private Equity Waves

This study presents a dynamic model for the private equity market in which information revelation and uncertainty rationally explain the cyclical pattern of investment flows into private equity. The net benefit of private equity over public equity is i) uncertain and ii) agents have private information about the benefits of their investment. When these distinguishing characteristics determine investment behavior in private equity markets, rational investment waves may arise endogenously. Investment behavior reveals private information on the benefits of private equity financing and may trigger a cascade when investors jump on the bandwagon and invest irrespective of their private information content. We argue that the procyclical behavior of private equity volumes is strengthened by the revelation of information on the benefits of private equity investments. The occurrence and length of such waves in the market for private equity depend on the capabilities of agents

Consolidation Waves

This paper explains why consolidation acquisitions occur in waves and it predicts the differing role each firm is likely to play in the consolidation game. We propose that whether a firm assumes the role of rival consolidator, target, or passive observer depends on the position of the firm relative to the entity that merges first. Our model predicts that an initial acquisition triggers a wave of follow-on acquisitions, where the process of asset accumulation by the consolidator is accelerated since the value of follow-on acquisitions is enhanced by the more concentrated industry structure. An initial consolidation can trigger a consolidating acquisition by a rival in a remote market segment, while some firms prefer to be a target and others remain passive observers that await the outcome of the consolidation process rather than merge amongst themselves. Fragmentation, demand uncertainty, and investment costs determine the timing of acquisitions

De Private Equity Golf

In de laatste decennia heeft private equity zich ontwikkeld tot een belangrijke component van ondernemingsfi nanciering. Private equity is een bron van fi nanciering voor start-up ondernemingen, private middelgrote ondernemingen, ondernemingen die geherstructureerd worden of onder nemingen die hun beursnotering willen beëindigen. De ontwikkelingsgang van private equity kent een golfpatroon dat gekenmerkt wordt door perioden van expansie en perioden van verschansing. Dit artikel beschrijft aan de hand van de recente literatuur de privateequitygolf, en de consequenties voor de verschillende partijen in de markt voor private equity, zoals de ondernemingen die privaat gefi nancierd worden, de investeringsmaatschappijen en de verschaffers van privaat vermogen

Acquisitions as a Real Options Bidding Game

This paper uses a unified treatment of real options and game theory to examine value appropriation in takeovers within a competitive environment of imperfect information. The integrated model considers a potential target as a shared real option on a bundle of resources. Competing potential buyers may sequentially perform due diligence and incur costs (option premium) to become informed about their firm-specific target value (underlying value) before making a bid (exercise price). The first player’s bid provides a signal on its own and rivals’ target value, thereby affecting potential bidders’ option value. The level of information costs and the option value, affected by heterogeneity between bidders (correlation), their expected target value, and uncertainty, determine value appropriation in acquisitions