Introduction

Abstract

Ownership structures of corporations vary largely across the world. A study by Becht / Röell (1999) comparing ownership structures of listed corporations in eight European countries and the United States (US) shows that among the sample countries, Italian firms show the highest level of ownership concentration; the largest voting block for Italian listed firms accounts for 54.53% on average. Also for Austria, Germany and Belgium the largest voting block is higher than 50% on average. Contrary, it accounts for only 9.9% in the United Kingdom (UK) and in the US it is below the 5% disclosure threshold. The ownership structures of companies from seven European countries, Japan and the US are analyzed by van der Elst (2003) over the period 1990-1999.