Abstract
According to Berle and Means (1932), dispersed ownership has given rise to separation of ownership and control. Demsetz and Lehn (1985) argue that ownership patterns reflect a trade-off of the risk to investors of concentrated investments in large firms and the control potential of the firm. Diversified shareholdings are useful from the point of view of risk reduction but discourage active participation of investors. As Franks and Mayer (1995c) point out, it is puzzling that the resolution of this trade off has taken such different forms in different countries. German and French equity markets can be characterized by few listed companies, an illiquid capital market where ownership and control is infrequently traded and complex systems of intercorporate holdings (Mayer 1993, Franks and Mayer 1992). Consequently, these structures are appropriately described as insider systems in which the corporate sector has controlling interests in itself; outsider investors, while able to participate in equity returns through the stock market, are not able to exert much control. In contrast, the Anglo-American system is a market oriented or outsider system and is characterized by a large number of listed companies, a liquid capital market where ownership and control rights are frequently traded and few intercorporate holdings.1 There are few large, controlling shareholdings and these are rarely associated with the corporate sector itself.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Alchian, A. A. and H. Demsetz (1972) Production, information costs and economic organization, American Economic Review 62, 777–795.
Aoki, M., B. Gustafsson and O. E. Williamson (1990) The Firm as a Nexus of Treaties, London.
Banking Commission (1989) Mise en application du chapitre premier de la loi du 2 mars 1989, relative à la publicité des participations importantes dans les sociétés cotées en bourse et réglementant les offres publiques d’acquisition, May, 1–17.
Baums, T. (1994) Corporate governance in Germany — system and recent developments, published in ‘Aspects of Corporate Governance’, eds. M. Isaksson and R. Skog, Juristforlaget, 31–54.
Berle, A. and G. Means (1932) The Modern Corporation and Private Property, New York.
Bianchi, M. and P. Casavola (1995) Piercing the corporate veil: truth and appearance in Italian listed pyramidal groups, Working Paper Banca D’Italia, presented at corporate governance and property rights workshop in Milan 16–17 June.
Bianco, M., C. Gola and L. F. Signorini (1995) Dealing with separation between ownership and control: state, family, coalitions and pyramidal groups in Italian corporate governance, Working Paper Banca D’Italia, presented at corporate governance and property rights workshop in Milan 16–17 June.
Bodson, P. (1993) Tractebel: groupe industrielle, Mimeo Tractebel, December, Brussels.
Chirinko, R. S. and J. A. Elston (1995) Finance, control and profitability: an evaluation of German bank influence, Working paper Wissenschafszentrum Berlin Fur Sozialforschung.
Coase, R. (1937) The Nature of the Firm, Economica 4, 386–405.
Cornelis, L. and J. Peeters (1992) De gemeenschappelijke beleggingsfondsen en -vennootschappen, published in ‘De Nieuwe Beurswetgeving’, eds. Cornelis et alii, Jan Ronse Instituut-K.U.Leuven, 302–320.
Davies, P. L. and G. P. Stapledon (1994) Corporate governance in the United Kingdom, published in ‘Aspects of Corporate Governance’, eds. M. Isaksson and R. Skog, Juristforlaget, pp. 55–81.
Demsetz, H. and K. Lehn (1985) The structure of corporate ownership: causes and consequences, Journal of Political Economy 93, 1155–1177.
Dixit, A. (1983) Vertical integration in a monopolistic competitive industry, International Journal of Industrial Organization 1, 63–78.
Fama, E. and M. Jensen (1983) Separation of ownership and control, Journal of Law and Economics 26, 301–325.
Franks J. and C. Mayer (1992) Corporate control: a synthesis of the international evidence, Working Paper, London Business School.
Franks, J. and C. Mayer (1996) Hostile takeovers and the correction of managerial failure, Journal of Financial Economics 40, 163–181.
Franks, J. and C. Mayer (1995a) Ownership and control of German corporations, Working Paper, London Business School.
Franks, J. and C. Mayer (1995b) Ownership and control, in ‘Trends in business organization: do participation and cooperation increase competitiveness?’ edited by H. Siebert, published by J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Seibeck) Tuebingen, 171–195.
Franks, J., C. Mayer and L. Renneboog (1996) The role of large share stakes in poorly performing companies in the UK, Working Paper, Catholic University of Leuven.
Goergen, M. (1993) Corporate control in Belgium, Germany, Spain and the U.K., mimeo Warwick Business School.
Grossman, S. J. and O. Hart (1986) The cost and benefits of ownership: a theory of vertical and lateral integration, Journal of Political Economy 94, 691–719.
Hart, O. and J. Moore (1990) Property rights and the nature of the firm, Journal of Political Economy 98, 1119–1158.
Jensen, M. C. (1986) The takeover controversy: analysis and evidence, Midland Corporate Finance Journal 4, 6–32.
Lichtenberg, F. R. and G. M. Pushner (1992) Ownership structure and corporate performance is Japan, NBER Working Paper No. 4092.
Lievens, J. (1994) De rechten van de minderheidsaandeelhouder, Centrum voor fiscale wetenschappen in bedrijfbeleid EHSAL — Fiscale Hogeschool seminaries, seminar on 9 June.
Maertens, M. (1994) Loi sur la transparence du marché — Circulation de l’information, publication of the Brussels Stock Exchange.
Manne, H. G. (1965) Some theoretical aspects of share voting, Columbia Law Review 64, 534–554.
Mayer, C. (1993) Ownership, Inaugural Lecture to the University of Warwick, February 1.
Miyajima, H. (1995) Bank centred corporate groups and investment: evidence from the first phase of high growth era in Japan, Working Paper, Waseda University School of Commerce. Presented at the conference on Firm-Bank relations in Wissenschafszentrum Berlin fuer Socialforschung in 4 July 1995.
Plateau, S. and Van Herck, G. (1992) Handboek Consolidatie, Juridische Aspecten en Bedrijfseconomische Toepassingen, ACCO, 21–53.
Prowse, S. (1992) The structure of corporate ownership in Japan, Journal of Finance 47, 1121–1140.
Renneboog, L. (1996) Ownership, managerial control and the governance of companies listed on the Brussels stock exchange, Working Paper, Catholic University of Leuven.
Salinger, M. (1988) Vertical merger and market foreclosure, Quarterly Journal of Economics 103, 345–356.
Shleifer, A. and R. W. Vishny (1986) Large shareholders and corporate control, Journal of Political Economy 95, 461–488.
Uytterschaut, L. (1989) De Geconsolideerde Jaarrekening. Een Handleiding voor het Samenvoegen van Jaarrekeningen, M. I. M., Deurne.
Van Hulle, C., T. Vermaelen and P. de Wouters (1991) Regulation, taxes and the market for corporate control in Belgium, Journal of Banking and Finance 15, 1143–1170.
Van Nuffel, M. (1994) Het vragenrecht en de stemming van de algemene vergadering, Centrum voor fiscale wetenschappen in bedrijfbeleid EHSAL — Fiscale Hogeschool seminaries, seminar on 9 June.
Verwilst, H. (1992) Aandelenbezit door banken, Bank-en Financiewezen, 367–371.
Weisbach, M. (1988) Outside directors and CEO turnover, Journal of Financial Economics 20, 431–460.
Williamson, O. E. (1975) Markets and Hierarchies: Analysis and Anti-trust Implications, New York.
Wuille, S. (1994) Les déclarations de participations publiées dans la Cote de la Bourse de Bruxelles, publication of the Brussels Stock Exchange, July.
Wymeersch, E. (1992) The mandatory takeover bid: a critical view, published in ‘Takeovers in Europe, eds. Hopt and Wymeersch, Butterworths London.
Wymeersch, E. (1994a) Aspects of Corporate Governance, Journal of Corporate Governance 2, 138–149.
Wymeersch, E. (1994b) Elements of comparative corporate governance in Western Europe, published in ‘Aspect of Corporate Governance’, eds. M. Isaksson and R. Skog, Juristforlaget, 83–116.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Renneboog, L. (1998). Shareholding Concentration and Pyramidal Ownership Structures in Belgium. In: Balling, M., Hennessy, E., O’Brien, R. (eds) Corporate Governance, Financial Markets and Global Convergence. Financial and Monetary Policy Studies, vol 33. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2633-6_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2633-6_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-4784-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-2633-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive