The question of debt-equity choice has so far been widely discussed in literature. The aim of the paper is to analyse the determinants of capital structure of Polish enterprises. We analysed factors that may impact the indebtedness. This analysis fills in the gap in worldwide studies with the case of a country representing the group of „emerging markets”. The paper examines capital structure determinants of non-financial companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. We used five independent variables compatible with the up-to-date achievements in the field. The results indicate that there is an evidence of a significant negative relationship between the size of a company, its growth rate, profitability, tangibility and the level of total debt. The study shows positive relationship between growth prospects of the company and the debt level. The results of the study indicate that the pecking order theory better explains the changes in indebtedness of analysed companies than other capital structure theories. Obtained results are mostly consistent with earlier studies conducted in the Poland and with studies in Western economies.

A convertible bond may be an attractive financial instrument that helps to achieve the optimal capital structure of a company. In this paper, we analyze 562 issues of bonds from the American market between 2002 and 2013. Using regression trees analysis, we give some hints with respect to the design of convertible debt financing, which is the main goal of the paper, considering the most important characteristics of the issuers' financial standing and the parameters of issued convertibles. Our research let us formulate a few conclusions. Firstly, we identified some relationships between a conversion premium, a conversion period and a conversion ratio applied by issuers. Secondly, it turned out that most of the issuer's financial characteristics were not statistically significant for the issued convertibles. Finally, we found out that the share of fixed assets in the balance sheet amount seems to be one of the most important factors determining the internal structure of issued hybrid instruments, which supports the assets substitution theory. JEL Classifications: G12, G30, G32

The aim of the article is to compare the effects of mergers and acquisitions carried out by entities from developed and emerging countries. The article covers consolidation transactions completed between 2000 and 2018, exclusively by listed automotive companies. 764 consolidation transactions extracted from the Thomson Reuters Eikon database were observed, for which an efficiency measurement method based on the relationship of the share price to the stock market index was adopted. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics and statistical inference methods. A comparison of the efficiency of M&As completed in developed and emerging countries showed no significant differences in a statistical sense. This means that the macroeconomic conditions of the country from which the company originates have no significant impact on the chances of success of the consolidation implemented by the company. Companies from emerging countries were found to be more profitable, with higher liquidity and were less indebted. On the other hand, entities from developed countries had better operating efficiency ratios, suggesting that they achieved higher margins. The study thus also contradicts the thesis that cost position is important for the efficiency of entities, especially in emerging countries. In the context of the results of the comparison between the two groups of companies, it is reasonable to assume that the determinants of consolidation success are microeconomic in nature and are independent of the country in which the transaction takes place.

This paper attempts to identify the determinants of credit ratings for debt instrument issuers in the so-called emerging markets. The study was conducted on the sample of convertible bonds issuers in 2001-2012, half of which originated from Central and Eastern Europe, while the rest were U.S. operators. The analysis is focused exclusively on pairs of bonds with the same rating given by the British Fitch agency, which specialises in analysing Central and East European markets. The conducted studies show that solvency risk, interpreted as indebtedness, financial leverage and current solvency, is a major difference between the two groups of bonds. Changes in indebtedness, i.e. in assets held by foreign investors, are apparently the reasons of higher requirements for issuers from the emerging markets.