Essays on Corporate Ownership.

Corporate ownership is one of the most important determinants of modern corporate behavior, affecting firm valuation and productivity. This thesis examines how share ownership influences, or is influenced by, important firm attributes. In the first two chapters, we examine how share ownership influences the mode of acquisition decisions (1st chapter) and firm valuation and productivity (2nd chapter.) In the third chapter, we examine how share ownership is in turn influenced by firm fundamentals, informational asymmetry, and financing constraints by focusing on hedge funds as a source of equity financing.PhDBusiness AdministrationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62406/1/pshelby_1.pd