III. Evidence from Leveraged Buyout and Going Private Transactions
Many of the benefits in going private and leveraged buyout (LBO) transactions seem to be due to the control function of debt. These transactions are creating a new organizational form that competes successfully with the open corporate form because of advantages in controlling the agency costs of free cash flow. In 1984, going private transactions totaled $10.8 billion and represented 27 percent of all public acquisitions (by number, see Grimm, 1984, 1985, 1986, Figs. 36 and 37). The evidence indicates premiums paid average over 50 percent. Desirable leveraged buyout candidates are frequently firms or divisions of larger firms that have stable business histories and substantial free cash flow (i.e., low growth
prospects and high potential for generating cash flows)—situations where agency costs of free cash flow are likely to be high. The LBO transactions are frequently financed with high debt; 10 to 1 ratios of debt to equity are not uncommon. Moreover, the use of strip financing and the allocation of equity in the deals reveal a sensitivity to incentives, conflicts of interest, and bankruptcy costs. Strip financing, the practice in which risky nonequity securities are held in approximately equal proportions, limits the conflict of interest among such securities’ holders and therefore limits bankruptcy costs. A somewhat oversimplified example illustrates the point. Consider two firms identical in every respect except financing. Firm
A is entirely financed with equity, and firm B is highly leveraged with senior subordinated debt, convertible debt and preferred as well as equity. Suppose firm B securities are sold only in strips, that is, a buyer purchasing X percent of any security must purchase X percent of all securities, and the securities are “stapled” together so they cannot be separated later. Security holders of both firms have identical unleveraged claims on the cash flow distribution, but organizationally the two firms are very different. If firm B managers withhold dividends to invest in value-reducing projects or if they are
incompetent, strip holders have recourse to remedial powers not available to the equity holders of firm A. Each firm B security specifies the rights its holder has in the event of default on its dividend or coupon payment, for example, the right to take the firm into bankruptcy or to have board representation. As each security above the equity goes into default, the strip holder receives new rights to intercede in the organization. As a result, it is easier and quicker to replace managers in firm B. Moreover, because every security holder in the highly leveraged firm B has the same claim on the firm, there are no conflicts among senior and junior claimants over reorganization of the claims in the event of default; to the strip holder it is a matter of moving funds from one pocket to another. Thus firm B need never go into bankruptcy, the reorganization can be accomplished voluntarily, quickly, and with less expense and disruption than through bankruptcy proceedings. Strictly proportional holdings of all securities is not desirable, for example, because of IRS restrictions that deny tax deductibility of debt interest in such situations and limits on bank holdings of equity. However, riskless senior debt needn’t be in the strip, and it is advantageous to have top-level managers and venture capitalists who promote the transactions hold a larger share of the equity. Securities commonly subject to strip practice are often called “mezzanine” financing and include securities with priority superior to common stock yet subordinate to senior debt. Top-level managers frequently receive 15-20 percent of the equity. Venture capitalists and the funds they represent retain the major share of the equity. They control the board of directors and monitor managers. Managers and venture capitalists have a strong interest in making the venture successful because their equity interests are subordinate to other claims. Success requires (among other things) implementation of changes to avoid investment in low return projects to generate the cash for debt service and to increase the value of equity. Less than a handful of these ventures have ended in bankruptcy, although more have gone through private reorganizations. A thorough test of this organizational form requires the passage of time and another recession.