“Hollowing Out”—Myth and Reality: Corporate Takeovers in an Age of Transformation

This report explores the issue of “hollowing out” in an effort to clarify the impact of corporate takeovers on Canada and its businesses, and to probe the question, Why are so many people today worried about the takeovers? It considers the ways in which actions taken in the corporate interest result in corporate transformations, and discusses how mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity fits into this broad context. To do so, the authors look at the fortunes of the top 200 largest Canadian companies in 1990 (based on annual revenues) and note the forms of corporate transformations that occurred between 1990 and 2007. They also present in-depth macro- and microanalysis of the effects of corporate takeovers. The findings of this study have many applications, such as providing an evidence base that can inform government decisions, informing public dialogue, and helping business leaders better evaluate the prospects of takeover facing their companies.

This report comprises three volumes exploring the nature and impact of corporate takeovers in Canada.
The Executive summary examines the overall impact of takeovers on Canada.

Volume I presents the theory, macro data, and aggregated data from case studies relating to “corporate takeover effects” (CTEs) on target companies.

Volume II presents 30 detailed case studies in three categories: foreign takeovers of Canadian companies, Canadian takeovers of Canadian companies, and Canadian takeovers of foreign companies.

To purchase hard copies of all three volumes for $165 please call us at 1-866-711-2262.