De los efectos de la OPA obligatoria en distintos contextos

De Ventoruzzo (2008)

takeover regulation, might have very different effects when applied in systems with concentrated ownership instead of dispersed ownership.

in a system with a very dispersed ownership structure in which, for example, the average participation necessary to have de facto control of a corporation is ten percent. In that context, a raider can easily succeed in a hostile acquisition without triggering the mandatory bid.

The important implication is that, in a system with widespread ownership, the real goal of the mandatory bid is not so much the one of protecting minority investors from any change in control, but rather from a change in control when the resulting ownership structure of the corporation is characterized by the presence of a large block-holder. The importance of this protection is that a new large block-holder weakens the potential disciplining role of the market. In other words, mandatory bids provide a fair exit to shareholders when a change of control takes place that is not easy to reverse.

Compare the same rule in a system in which the ownership structure is concentrated, and the largest shareholders typically hold a percentage higher than the threshold triggering the mandatory bid. In that context, the practical effect of the rule is that whoever aims at obtaining control must be ready to buy all the outstanding shares. Needless to say, rendering the acquisition more expensive might help the controlling shareholder to fend off an undesired suitor

Lo interesante es que en cada mercado nacional hay sociedades cotizadas de capital disperso y sociedades cotizadas de capital concentrado y que la adquisición de un paquete de control de facto – sin sobrepasar el 30 % – convierte a la sociedad de capital disperso en sociedad de capital concentrado, de manera que ambos efectos se producen sucesivamente: la compra de una participación significativa proporciona el control de facto, aunque contestable (es decir, puede aparecer un comprador hostil a dicho accionista y a los administradores) y encarece la adquisición del control para el que, posteriormente, desee hacerse con el control de la compañía (el nuevo comprador ha de hacer una OPA al 100 %). O sea, raiders con paciencia suficiente pueden hacerse con el control a bajo coste.