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The purpose of this dissertation thesis is to investigate how changes in the institutional setting have affected the payout policy of German firms. This dissertation thesis further contributes to the literature on event study methodology by analyzing the measurment of abnormal credit default swap spreads.

Mit dem umstrittenen Urteil des Bundesgerichtshofs im Frosta-Fall kam es im Oktober 2013 zu einer drastischen Änderung der Regeln für ein Delisting. Die bis dahin durch höchstrichterliche Rechtsprechung vorgeschriebene Zustimmung durch die Hauptversammlung sowie der Entschädigungsanspruch von Minderheitsaktionären entfielen. Die vorliegende Studie findet für den Zeitraum von der Urteilsverkündung bis Ende Mai 2015, dass Aktionäre durch vollständige Delistings signifikante Vermögensverluste erleiden. Die kumulierte abnormale Aktienrendite im Zeitraum von drei Handelstagen um die Delisting-Ankündigung beträgt im Durchschnitt -6%. Die Kursreaktion ist überwiegend negativ. Nach einem Downlisting läßt sich kein signifikanter Kursrückgang feststellen, jedoch beobachten wir einen Rückgang der Aktienliquidität. Die Ergebnisse lassen ein Tätigwerden des Gesetzgebers zum Schutz von Minderheitsaktionären jedenfalls für vollständige Delistings geboten erscheinen. ; With the controversial decision in the "Frosta" case, Germany's Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) has made significant changes to the rules that apply to corporate delistings from German stock exchanges. The mandatory approval of the delisting by shareholders and the minority shareholders' claim for indemnity have been abolished. This study examines the consequences of the new ruling for shareholders for the period from the court decision in October 2013 to May 2015. The cumulative abnormal stock return in the three days around the announcement of a delisting amounts to -6%. For the vast majority of all delisting announcements, the stock price reaction is found to be negative. We do not observe significant price declines after downlistings. We do observe, however, a deterioration of liquidity in these cases. The results call upon the legislator to take action in order to protect minority shareholders, at least in the case of complete delistings.

This paper analyzes how policy changes affect shareholder wealth in the context of environmental regulation. We exploit the unique and unexpected German reaction to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, which involved the immediate shutdown of almost half of Germany's nuclear reactors while safety checks were carried out, and a three-month moratorium on extending the lives of others. Using the event study methodology, our findings indicate a wealth transfer from nuclear energy companies to renewable energies companies in Germany. We moreover find that the joint market capitalization of these firms has decreased, but the amount of this combined decrease is small. Substantial heterogeneity in the shareholder wealth effects across European countries can be linked to different nuclear energy policies. The shareholder wealth of nuclear and conventional energy companies in the United States has been unaffected.