To make high-quality research more accessible and easier to explore.

Fields:

Resolution of financial distress under agency frictions

Journal of Banking & Finance 2017 82, 40-58
We introduce, in a dynamic-contracting framework with moral hazard, the possibility of recapitalization as an alternative to liquidation when a firm is distressed. This is achieved by considering a risk-averse agent and by allowing (but not requiring) the latter to inject additional capital into the firm when necessary. We show that firm recapitalization may arise in an optimal, long-term contract. As a consequence, we find that there are two mechanisms at a firm’s disposal so as to deal with financial difficulties: one corresponds to a recapitalization process, the other to a liquidation one. The choice of mechanism is based on a cost-benefit analysis.