Covenants in convertible bonds: Boon or boilerplate?
研究发现可转换债券平均比普通债券少3.21个契约条款，且契约对可转换债券收益率无负面影响，表明转换期权与部分契约可相互替代，剩余契约多为无关紧要的模板条款。
This paper examines the role of restrictive covenants in convertible bonds. After controlling for standard covenant intensity determinants, an average convertible bond offering has 3.21 fewer covenants than an average straight bond offering. While covenants negatively affect straight bond yields, there is no negative association between covenants and convertible bond yields. Moreover, contrary to straight bond covenants, convertible bond covenants are set largely independently of issuer characteristics. Overall, our findings suggest that the conversion option and certain covenants are substitutes for addressing debt-related financing costs. The few covenants included in convertibles represent irrelevant boilerplate clauses.