Financial Intermediaries and Capital Centralization in Global FDI: A Network Approach to Tracing Transnational Corporate Control
Alessio Abeltino, Tiziano Bacaloni, Andrea Bernardini, Francesco Giancaterini, Andrea Pannone
TLDR
This paper reveals how financial intermediaries centralize corporate control in global FDI through complex ownership networks, impacting firm governance.
Key contributions
- Financial intermediaries centralize corporate control in global FDI via complex transnational ownership networks.
- Traces how control converges on firms through multi-layered ownership chains using a network approach.
- Demonstrates small equity stakes held by interconnected intermediaries translate into substantial governance power.
- Highlights implications for strategic autonomy and economic sovereignty in key economic sectors.
Why it matters
Understanding how financial intermediaries centralize corporate control is crucial in an economy dominated by cross-border M&A. This research reveals how control concentrates despite fragmented ownership, impacting strategic autonomy and economic sovereignty in key sectors.
Original Abstract
Understanding how corporate control concentrates in modern ownership systems is crucial in an economy increasingly shaped by cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Rather than expanding productive capacity, these operations reorganize ownership and control over existing firms through complex transnational structures involving financial intermediaries, holding companies, and investment vehicles. As a result, corporate control may become highly concentrated even when formal ownership appears fragmented. This paper examines how foreign direct investments-related capital centralization reshapes firm-level governance by tracing how control converges on individual companies through multi-layered ownership networks. Focusing on two strategically relevant Italian firms, we show that control is rarely exercised solely by ultimate owners, but instead arises from the interaction of a small set of financially interconnected intermediaries operating along transnational ownership chains. The results show how small equity stakes translate into substantial governance power, highlighting the role of financial intermediation and raising implications for strategic autonomy and economic sovereignty in key sectors.
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