Research

“SPACs and the Regulation Gap: The Effect of First SEC Intervention on Share and Warrant Returns”, 2022, (with Evrim Akdoğu and Serif Aziz Simsir), Finance Research Letters, vol. 50, 103316
Abstract
We examine the effect of first official SEC announcement regarding Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs), which is an alternative mechanism of taking firms public and suggested to enjoy a regulation gap compared to its counterparts. If so, a big adverse effect may be expected at the time of the first regulatory intervention. Our results do not show support for this hypothesis; however, we find that some SPAC characteristics lead to significantly worse returns in a multivariate setting. Interestingly, despite the regulation targeting warrant accounting directly, we find that offering warrants in SPAC units have a positive impact on announcement returns.

“Post-AIA Innovation Acquisition: A race to patent office or a race to acquire patents?”, 2024. Draft available upon request, Job Market Paper. (with Evrim Akdoğu and Serif Aziz Simsir)
Abstract
The America Invents Act (AIA) of 2011 and the shift in patent priority rule significantly transformed the U.S. patent system. This study examines the AIA’s impact on innovation acquisition, revealing a higher number of acquired patents despite an overall decrease in the patenting landscape. This increased demand, evidenced by more contested bids, longer deal completions and higher bid premiums paid for innovative targets, is coupled with a drop in patent numbers and R&D by the acquirers, pointing to a substitution effect between internal and external innovation. Overall, the findings reveal a more competitive and a less cooperative patenting environment after the AIA, where a significant number of firms, small or large, are forced to exit the market or rushed to obtain patents externally through M&As.

Work in Progress