NEWSLETTER of Januar 8, 2021
The following content has been added at finexpert:
Studies > Performance
World Economic Forum | World Bank Group | University of Cambridge
THE GLOBAL COVID-19 FINTECH MARKET RAPID ASSESSMENT STUDY
This study finds that, despite unprecedented uncertainty and rapid changes in market conditions, FinTechs across the globe have been resilient in responding to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Twelve out of 13 surveyed FinTech verticals reported growth on average in Q1-Q2 2020, compared with the same period in 2019, although the growth was very uneven across markets and geographies. FinTechs were nimble and innovative in adapting to market conditions by both tweaking existing products and services and launching new ones. However, they still face significant headwinds in operations, fundraising and regulatory challenges across the world. >more
Studies > Performance
Roland Berger
COVID-19 HAT DIE WIRTSCHAFT HART GETROFFEN – RESTRUKTURIERUNGSBEDARF EXPLODIERT
No event in recent decades has had such a massive impact on the global economy as the Corona crisis. The lockdown in the first half of the year and the exit restrictions in November have put massive pressure on the economy - and make a recovery a distant prospect. Roland Berger asked 500 restructuring experts from Germany, Austria and Switzerland for a forecast for the coming year and condensed the results in the "Restructuring Study 2020". The conclusion: hardly any experts still expect a v-shaped recovery of the economy. On the contrary: at 86 percent, an overwhelming majority of respondents expect the need for restructuring to increase significantly in the coming year. >more
Studies > M & A
PwC
DESTINATION DEUTSCHLAND: M&A ACTIVITY OF FOREIGN INVESTORS IN GERMANY IN 2020
In 2020, fewer M&A transactions took place between foreign investors and German companies than in the previous year. The main reason for this is the coronavirus pandemic and its macroeconomic consequences. This is one of the core findings of the report "Destination Germany. M&A Activities of Foreign Investors 2020" by the auditing and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The analysis takes into account all mergers, company acquisitions and sales, leveraged buyouts, spin-offs, privatisations and minority share acquisitions announced between January 1, 2016 and November 15, 2020. >more
Studies > Alternative Investments
IHS Markit
AFTER THE STORM: PRIVATE EQUITY AFTER COVID-19
As challenges abound for the PE community, our survey of 30 PE executives reveals that most firms are up for the fight. First, PE firms are actively managing downside risk in their portfolio companies – including operational risks associated with COVID-19. Second, a significant proportion of respondents are looking to tap into higher returns by diversifying their asset class exposure. Third, firms are increasingly adopting advanced technologies to acquire a competitive advantage. >more
Research Papers > Corporate Finance
HOW VALUABLE IS FINANCIAL FLEXIBILITY WHEN REVENUE STOPS? EVIDENCE FROM THE COVID-19 CRISIS
Rüdiger Fahlenbrach, Kevin Rageth, and René M. Stulz
2020
Firms with greater financial flexibility should be better able to fund a revenue shortfall resulting from the COVID-19 shock and benefit less from policy responses. We find that firms with high financial flexibility within an industry experience a stock price drop lower by 26% or 9.7 percentage points than those with low financial flexibility. This differential return persists as stock prices rebound. The firms more exposed to the COVID-19 shock benefit more from cash holdings. There is no evidence that recent payouts made the average firm’s stock price drop worse. Our results cannot be explained by a leverage effect. >more
Research Papers > M & A
GOOD NEWS FOR RIVALS – ARE RIVALS FULLY SEIZING TRANSITION-PERIOD OPPORTUNITIES FOLLOWING ANNOUNCERS’ TOP MANAGEMENT TURNOVERS?
Denis Schweizer, Juliane Proelss, Utz Schäffer, and Cord Burchard
2020
This study analyzes whether and how the disruption of top management turnovers can affect not only turnover firms but also their intra-industry rivals. It thus adds to the literature on both leader life cycles and competitive dynamics. Using a U.S. sample of 857 CEO turnovers, we find a period of relative stagnation for announcing companies following top management turnovers. We also find that intra-industry rivals can use this period to their advantage. Semi-structured interviews with seasoned CEOs, CFOs, and a board member from large publicly listed firms, as well as an extensive news search, support this notion. Intra-industry rivals gain a competitive advantage that can result in positive abnormal stock returns and accounting performance. The intra-industry outperformance is greater for forced turnovers. >more