Do sell-off market returns benefit all shareholders?

Drawing from the resource-based view and agency theory, we examine market returns associated with sell-off announcements under different profit scenarios in a newly developed economy. We further explore the impact of controlling ownership on sell-off market returns to illuminate the effect of agency conflicts on managers' strategic behaviors. The results reveal positive returns if firms sell loss-increasing divisions and negative returns when they sell profitable/loss-decreasing divisions. These suggest that sell-offs do not benefit all shareholders under certain circumstances. The level of controlling ownership of firms/family firms also exerts a positive impact on sell-off market returns.