Dilution of ownership in multinational concerns

Abstract

This paper examines the issue of ownership dilution of foreign operations on a voluntary or involuntary basis. Involving some 628 cases of foreign ownership dilution by British multinationals in various parts of the world, the paper highlights two main aspects: (1) the degree of dilution, and (2) the geographical spread. A framework of corporate policies on ownership dilution and foreign investment policies of host nations involved has been developed. Twenty-one cases of changes in national and corporate policies are monitored for the entire operational period of these investments. Since some of the statistics obtained during the study are still being consolidated, the findings are not wholly conclusive.