This dissertation uses a novel panel data set of listed European firms to explore the impact of large blockholders (BHs) on firm performance and payout policy, and the mitigating role of minority shareholder protection. In the first part the relation between shareholder protection, ownership concentration, and firm performance is analyzed. The results reveal that strategic investors are attracted by weak protection and come at the expense of the marginal investor. In contrast, institutional BHs go hand in hand with shareholder protection and have a positive effect of firm value. Based on the shareholders’ differential tax preferences, the second part analyzes payout decisions of listed firms. The results show that the payout decisions reflect the tax preferences of a firm's largest investor. However, shareholder protection effectively restricts the power of BHs to promote a payout policy that comes at the expense of minority shareholders.
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This dissertation uses a novel panel data set of listed European firms to explore the impact of large blockholders (BHs) on firm performance and payout policy, and the mitigating role of minority shareholder protection. In the first part the relation between shareholder protection, ownership concentration, and firm performance is analyzed. The results reveal that strategic investors are attracted by weak protection and come at the expense of the marginal investor. In contrast, institutional BHs...
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