Hedge Funds in Chapter 11*
Hedge Funds in Chapter 11* Wei Jiang Columbia University† Kai Li University of British Columbia‡ Wei Wang Queen’s University§ This version: June, 2010 Abstract This paper examines the roles of hedge funds in the Chapter 11 process and their effects on bankruptcy outcomes, using a comprehensive sample of 474 Chapter 11 filings from 1996 to 2007. We first show that hedge funds’ strategic choices in the timing of their presence and their entry point in the capital structure allow them to have a big impact on reorganization. Their presence as creditors is associated with a higher probability of emergence, and their presence as shareholders is associated with more deviations from the absolute priority rule. Further, hedge fund involvement is positively associated with more frequent adoptions of key employee retention plans and increased CEO turnover. Our research suggests that hedge funds are an emerging force underlying the changing nature of Chapter 11. Keywords: Hedge funds; Chapter 11; Loan-to-own; Emergence; APR deviation; KERP; CEO Turnover JEL classification: G20; G33 * We thank our team of dedicated research assistants Gregory Duggan, Sam Guo, Bobby Huang, and Greg Klochkoff. We also thank Lynn LoPucki at UCLA, and Ben Schlafman at New Generation Research for their help on data collection, Michael Halling, Robert Kieschnick, George Lee, Adam Levitin, Michael Meloche, Michael Schill, David Skeel, Johan Sulaeman, David Thesmar, Albert Wang, and seminar and conference participants at Queen’s, SMU, UBC, UCSD, UT Dallas, the 2009 International Conference on Corporate Finance and Governance in Emerging Markets, the 7th FMA NAPA Conference on Financial Markets Research, the Second Paris Spring Corporate Finance Conference, and the FIRS Conference for helpful comments.
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