Financial Intermediaries and Capital Centralization in Global FDI: A Network Approach to Tracing Transnational Corporate Control

Fuente: arXiv
Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Abeltino, Alessio, Bacaloni, Tiziano, Bernardini, Andrea, Giancaterini, Francesco, Pannone, Andrea
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
_version_ 1866913053134553088
author Abeltino, Alessio
Bacaloni, Tiziano
Bernardini, Andrea
Giancaterini, Francesco
Pannone, Andrea
author_facet Abeltino, Alessio
Bacaloni, Tiziano
Bernardini, Andrea
Giancaterini, Francesco
Pannone, Andrea
contents 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.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_02875
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Financial Intermediaries and Capital Centralization in Global FDI: A Network Approach to Tracing Transnational Corporate Control
Abeltino, Alessio
Bacaloni, Tiziano
Bernardini, Andrea
Giancaterini, Francesco
Pannone, Andrea
General Economics
Economics
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.
title Financial Intermediaries and Capital Centralization in Global FDI: A Network Approach to Tracing Transnational Corporate Control
topic General Economics
Economics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.02875