Widely held public companies extinct. In 2012, there are only 2% of the major U.S. companies that can be considered as public held. The extinction occurs in all industries and is caused by the rise of the blockholder ownership. The average number of the blockholder has increased from 1.25 to 3.25, while the blockholder ownership has increased from 10.46% to 26.27%. The blockholder ownership squeezes out founding-family and employee ownership, and facilitate third-party takeovers. The blockholder ownership has a significant impact over the board size and composition. The rise of the blockholder ownership leads to a smaller board with a lower ratio of insider and relative directors, and with more directors linked to the blockholder. The blockholder, i.e., investment manager, hedge fund, private equity/venture capital, etc., has changed the landscape of the ownership structure and the corporate governance in the last two decades.

Discussant: Stephanie Chan (University of Amsterdam)

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