131,436 research outputs found
Private Equity and Leveraged Buyouts in Italy. To Prohibit or Not to Prohibit, That is the Question
No full textThe purpose of the study by S. Zambelli is two-fold.
First, the paper discusses the evolution of the Private Equity (PE) market in Italy, in relation to several changes in regulation (especially with reference to the financial assistance rule for a share-buyback purpose).
Second, the paper empirically analyzes the economic impact of a new PE and LBO reform on financial markets and investor behavior (effective from January 2004).
The empirical analysis underlying the paper is based on a novel and new database, hand-collected by the Author via a survey methodology, which consists of 162 PE transactions carried out during the 1999-2006 period.
The economic impact of the new PE reform includes a comprehensive analysis of the entire private equity cycle, with a special focus on the following issues:
- Impact on the private equity market;
- Impact on the deal structure and forms of finance;
- Impact on the adoption of convertible securities;
- Impact on the governance of the target;
- Impact on the evaluation process of the target firm.
The Italian private equity and buyout market, whose transactions were previously prohibited and only recently legalized, offers a unique example in order to evaluate the impact of the new LBO law on investors' behavior
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERIZATION, PHYSICS, MODELING AND RELIABILITY OF INNOVATIVE NON-VOLATILE MEMORIES
No full textEnclosed in this thesis work it can be found the results of a three years long research
activity performed during the XXIV-th cycle of the Ph.D. school in Engineering Science of
the Università degli Studi di Ferrara. The topic of this work is concerned about the
electrical characterization, physics, modeling and reliability of innovative non-volatile
memories, addressing most of the proposed alternative to the floating-gate based
memories which currently are facing a technology dead end. Throughout the chapters of
this thesis it will be provided a detailed characterization of the envisioned replacements for
the common NOR and NAND Flash technologies into the near future embedded and
MPSoCs (Multi Processing System on Chip) systems. In Chapter 1 it will be introduced the
non-volatile memory technology with direct reference on nowadays Flash mainstream,
providing indications and comments on why the system designers should be forced to
change the approach to new memory concepts. In Chapter 2 it will be presented one of the
most studied post-floating gate memory technology for MPSoCs: the Phase Change
Memory. The results of an extensive electrical characterization performed on these
devices led to important discoveries such as the kinematics of the erase operation and
potential reliability threats in memory operations. A modeling framework has been
developed to support the experimental results and to validate them on projected scaled
technology. In Chapter 3 an embedded memory for automotive environment will be shown:
the SimpleEE p-channel memory. The characterization of this memory proven the
technology robustness providing at the same time new insights on the erratic bits
phenomenon largely studied on NOR and NAND counterparts. Chapter 4 will show the
research studies performed on a memory device based on the Nano-MEMS concept. This
particular memory generation proves to be integrated in very harsh environment such as
military applications, geothermal and space avionics. A detailed study on the physical
principles underlying this memory will be presented. In Chapter 5 a successor of the
standard NAND Flash will be analyzed: the Charge Trapping NAND. This kind of memory
shares the same principles of the traditional floating gate technology except for the storage
medium which now has been substituted by a discrete nature storage (i.e. silicon nitride
traps). The conclusions and the results summary for each memory technology will be
provided in Chapter 6. Finally, on Appendix A it will be shown the results of a recently
started research activity on the high level reliability memory management exploiting the
results of the studies for Phase Change Memories
Illegal Buyouts
No full text--Short Abstract -- (as published)
This study empirically examines the effects of a regulation change on the structure and governance of leveraged buyouts (LBOs) within the Italian private equity market, whose transactions were only recently legalized. With a new data set covering approximately 85% of the buyout funds active in Italy during the period of 1999-2006, we find that a regulation that prohibits LBOs can reduce their frequency, but does not exclude them altogether. Rather, it inhibits efficient governance and distorts decision making. Overall, the data are consistent with the view that laws prohibiting LBOs result in less efficient LBO arrangements.
--Extended Abstract -- The purpose of this study is to empirically analyze the effects of a regulation change on the structure of leveraged buyout (LBO) deals and the governance of the investee firms within the Italian private equity market, whose transactions were only recently legalized.
A worldwide debate in the law and finance literature argues that leveraged buyouts (LBOs) should be prohibited or at least heavily regulated, as it occurred in Italy until recently. In 2004, the Italian Government introduced a new corporate governance law aimed at legalizing LBO transactions under a set of conditions.
We use a new data set that includes 103 LBO deals, covering approximately 85% of the buyout funds active in Italy during the period of 1999-2006.
We find that a regulation that prohibits LBOs can reduce their frequency, but does not exclude them altogether. Rather, it inhibits efficient governance and distorts decision making.
Overall, the data are consistent with the view that laws prohibiting LBOs result in less efficient LBO arrangements.
(C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Private equity performance under extreme regulation
No full text-- Short Abstract (as published) --
This study investigates the impact of excessive regulation on private equity (PE) returns and firm performance. History shows that extreme regulation and prohibition reduce the supply of capital and raise returns (e.g., as with drugs and diamonds). However, for value-added investors such as PE funds, extreme regulation also reduces the quality of capital and fund involvement. The net effect on returns is therefore ambiguous and heretofore not studied. With a new unique dataset, this paper empirically examines the performance of PE investments in Italy when leveraged buyouts are strictly regulated. The data show that extreme regulation reduces not only the supply of capital, but also PE returns and firm performance, as well as the likelihood of an IPO exit.
-- Extended Abstract --
The paper investigates the impact of extreme regulations on the performance of private equity (PE) investments.
The paper empirically examines the performance of PE investments realized in Italy over the period 1999-2010, with the adoption of a novel and unique hand-collected dataset. History shows that extreme regulation and prohibition reduce supply of capital and raise returns (i.e., drugs, diamonds). However, for value-added investors such as private equity (PE) funds, extreme regulation also reduces the quality of capital and fund involvement. The net effect on returns is therefore ambiguous and heretofore not studied.
The data show that extreme regulation reduces not only the supply of capital, but also PE returns and firm performance, as well as the likelihood of an IPO exit
Artificial Insemination in Queens in the Clinical Practice Setting: Protocols and challenges
No full textPractical relevance: Despite substantial advances in assisted reproductive techniques having been recently reported in cats, the use of these is limited and routine application is still far from being a reality in veterinary clinics. Nevertheless, there is an increasing demand from domestic cat breeders for artificial insemination (AI) techniques that are already commonly used in dogs. Where natural breeding is not possible in tom cats and queens of high breeding value, AI could offer a solution. Clinical challenges: AI in cats is more difficult than in other species - both in terms of semen collection/handling and oestrous cycle management given that ovulation must be induced. Aim: For practitioners wishing to perform AI in queens, there are challenges to overcome, and a good understanding of the techniques and procedures involved is pivotal. This review aims to contribute to improved knowledge by providing an overview of AI protocols, encompassing choice of breeding animals, procedures for semen collection, oestrus and ovulation induction, AI techniques and equipment. Equipment and technical skills: Depending on the animals involved and the specific AI technique chosen, essential equipment may include an artificial vagina, electroejaculator, endoscope (sialendoscope, which can be fairly expensive) and special catheters for transcervical insemination. Other instrumentation and materials needed are typically readily available in a veterinary clinic. In general, no particular skills are needed to perform the procedures described in this review, with the exception of endoscopic transcervical catheterisation, where the ability to use an endoscope is required. Evidence base: The information and advice/recommendations provided are based on specific feline research and reviews published in scientific peer-reviewed journals, animal reproduction textbooks, and presentations at national and international congresses. The authors also drew on their own clinical experience with regard to the choice of protocols and procedures presented in this review
Private Equity Governance and Financing Decisions
No full textThis paper empirically analyzes the financing and governing behavior employed by private equity (PE) investors to manage risks, asymmetric information, and agency problems.
In particular, the paper empirically analyzes the actual financial and governing mechanisms employed by the 78% of private equity investors in Italy (over the 1999-2006 period) in order to manage the underlying investment risks involved in each transaction and to minimize asymmetric information and agency costs. This study devotes a special focus on actual contracts signed by private equity funds in order to empirically evaluate how venture capitalists affect the governance of their portfolio companies within the Italian private equity market, which has shown a dramatic growth over the last ten years.
With reference to the Italian market, very few studies, if any, have empirically analyzed the impact of PE activity on corporate governance and financing behavior. The limited empirical evidence within the venture governance area is due to lack of public data on PE deal structure.
This paper aims at filling this gap through the adoption of a novel and new hand-collected dataset characterized by 162 private equity transactions carried out in Italy over the period from 1999-2006. This study explores the financing and contracting behavior of private equity investors by looking at the actual venture capital contracts and deal terms
Feline semen collection, freezing and insemination
No full textArtificial insemination (A.I.) in the cat was first described more than 30 years ago when this animal was used as laboratory model for several human pathologies. Some of these conditions are associated with reproductive problems, so A.I. allowed to breed subjects carriers of pathologies. More recently the cat has been considered an important comparative model for assisted reproduction in endangered non-domestic felids and many researchers have focused their studies on the application to the cat of new technologies such as IVM, IVF, ICSI and cloning. In the last years cat breeders increased their interest for A.I. and sperm preservation, but, in spite of the new scientific acquisitions, these procedures are not routinely used by practitioners
A cross-layer approach for new reliability-performance trade-offs in MLC NAND flash memories
No full textIn spite of the mature cell structure, the memory controller architecture of Multi-level cell (MLC) NAND Flash memories is evolving fast in an attempt to improve the uncorrected/miscorrected bit error rate (UBER) and to provide a more flexible usage model where the performance-reliability trade-off point can be adjusted at runtime. However, optimization techniques in the memory controller architecture cannot avoid a strict trade-off between UBER and read throughput. In this paper, we show that co-optimizing ECC architecture configuration in the memory controller with program algorithm selection at the technology layer, a more flexible memory sub-system arises, which is capable of unprecedented trade-offs points between performance and reliabilit
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