Sample Of Initial Public Offerings Research Articles

CEO characteristics and R&D expenditure of IPOs in China

In the rapidly evolving landscape of Mainland China's stock market, there is a substantial correlation between the research and development (R&D) spending of companies that are going through initial public offerings (IPOs) and the characteristics of the CEO. This study aims to investigate how CEO traits influence the allocation of resources towards R&D activities within the context of IPOs in Mainland China. The CEO plays a pivotal role in shaping the strategic direction and innovation agenda of companies, especially during the IPO process where firms seek to raise capital and expand their operations. Policymakers must comprehend the influence of CEO attributes on research and development spending, investors, and managers seeking to foster innovation and sustainable growth in Mainland Chinese firms. This research will focus on analyzing CEO traits such as educational background, prior experience, age, tenure, risk aversion, and management style, and their influence on the decision-making process regarding R&D investment. This study intends to determine significant links between R&D expenditure and characteristics of CEOs by looking at a sample of IPOs in the stock market of Mainland China. The analysis takes into account many factors like industry competition, market dynamics, regulatory environment, and firm-specific traits. Data on CEO traits, company finances, and R&D spending will be analysed using quantitative techniques like regression analysis and event research procedures. Furthermore, qualitative research techniques like case studies and interviews will offer deeper understandings of the contextual elements influencing the IPO market in Mainland China as well as the mechanisms underpinning these linkages. All things considered, this study will advance knowledge of how CEO traits affect R&D spending in the particular setting of initial public offerings (IPOs) on the stock market of Mainland China. The findings will offer valuable insights for policymakers, investors, and managers navigating the complexities of fostering innovation and sustainable growth in Mainland Chinese firms undergoing IPOs.

Make it easy: the effect of prospectus readability on IPO performance

PurposeUnderstanding the determinants of a corporate initial public offering (IPO) success is essential for reducing investors' valuation uncertainty when participating in share offerings. In this sense, this study contributes to the existing debate by examining IPO prospectus readability. The authors specifically investigate how clear and more informative insights into pure corporate key financial numbers can lead to a higher valuation for the company after the listing process.Design/methodology/approachThrough a sample of European IPOs, the authors employ a cross-sectional regression to test the relationship between prospectus readability through the Flesch reading ease (FRE) score and companies' market-to-book ratio at the period end date after the listing process.FindingsThe study findings show a positive impact of higher readability on the post-IPO market-to-book ratio. Thus, clear and more informative communication results in stocks being traded at a premium to their book value. This study presents a concrete call for firms to increase corporate documents’ readability to mitigate the risk of withdrawing or spoiling corporate market access. Specifically, enhanced clarity and transparency increase investors' confidence, facilitating a better understanding of companies' intrinsic value and the overall IPO process. The authors conducted several tests to validate the results.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is among the first works to explore the relationship between the readability of corporate prospectus and the sustained IPO success in the European context.

Family Ownership After Going Public: Exploring Nonlinear Effect on Innovation Inputs and the Role of Institutional Investors

Understanding the drivers of innovation in family firms is essential for their survival. While previous studies have mainly investigated innovation behaviours in private or public family firms, we focus on their R&D investment in the year following an IPO. Observing family firms in this context is crucial because it allows to analyse their propensity to innovate when financing constraints are relaxed. This work aims to investigate whether a relationship exists between R&D expenditures and family ownership in the setting of Initial Public Offerings (IPOs). Using a sample of IPOs in the period 2013–2018 by 132 French and Italian family and non-family firms, results reveal the existence of a U-shaped relationship in this regard. In addition, the curvilinear relationship is positively influenced by institutional investors. This study contributes to the debate around family firms’ innovation propensity, as well as to the literature on the heterogeneity among family firms.

Investor attention and IPO returns: evidence from Indian markets

PurposeThe regulatory design of Indian stock market provides us with the opportunity to disaggregate initial returns into two categories, i.e. voluntary premarket underpricing and post market mispricing. This study explores the impact of investor attention on the disaggregated short-run returns and long-run performance of initial public offerings (IPOs).Design/methodology/approachThe study employs regression techniques on the sample of IPOs listed from 2005 to 2019. It measures investor attention with the help of the Google Search Volume Index (GSVI) extracted from Google Trends. Along with GSVI, the subscription rate is used as a proxy to measure investor attention.FindingsThe empirical results suggest a positive and significant relationship between initial returns and investor attention, thus validating the attention theory for Indian IPOs. Furthermore, when the returns are analysed for a more extended period using buy-and-hold abnormal returns (BHARs), it was found that price reversal holds in the long run.Research limitations/implicationsThis study highlights the importance of information diffusion in the market. It emphasizes the behavioural tendency of the investors in the pre-market, which reduces the market efficiency. Hence, along with fundamentals, investor attention also plays an essential role in deciding the returns for an IPO.Originality/valueAccording to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies that has attempted to explore the influence of investor attention and its interplay with underpricing and long-run performance for IPOs of Indian markets.

Underwriting in the Australian IPO markets: Determinants and pricing

We examine the factors that explain the underwriting decision and underwriting fees for Australian initial public offerings (IPOs). Using a sample of Australian IPOs, spanning the period 1999–2019, we document the following results. IPOs that allow oversubscription of the shares, bookbuild offers, and IPOs with a greater delay to listing, are less likely to be underwritten. We also find that more prestigious underwriters are associated with greater IPO underpricing, while charging lower percent underwriting fees. Prestigious underwriters capture side benefits associated with their reputational status by offering their clients or favoured investors with discounted shares. JEL Classification: G12, G19, G38

Does a CEO's prior academic experience helpful to an IPO firm? The case of IPO discount

We examine the impact of having a chief executive officer (CEO) with prior academic experience on initial public offering (IPO) discount using a sample of Chinese IPOs. Our findings suggest that IPO firms with previous academic experience CEOs exhibit lower IPO discounts than those without such experience. The results are robust and economically significant. Additional analysis indicates that a firm's information asymmetry level mediates the impact of CEO academic experience on IPO discount and thus supports the notion that a CEO's prior academic experience helps lower the IPO firm's information asymmetry.

A study of the reliability of cross-sectional earnings forecasting models for estimating IPO firms’ implied cost of capital

PurposeThis study aims to evaluate the earnings forecasting models of Hou et al. (J Account Econ, 53:504–526, 2012) and Li and Mohanram (Rev Account Stud, 19:1152–1185, 2014) in terms of bias and accuracy and validity of the implied cost of capital (ICC) estimates for a sample of initial public offerings (IPOs).Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a sample of 1,657 NYSE, Amex and Nasdaq IPOs from 1972 to 2013.FindingsThe models of Hou et al. and Li and Mohanram produce relatively inaccurate and biased earnings forecasts, leading to unreliable ICC estimates, particularly for small and loss-making IPOs that constitute the bulk of new listings. As a remedy, the authors propose a new earnings forecasting model, a combination of Hou et al.’s and Li and Mohanram’s earnings persistence models, and show that it produces more accurate and less biased earnings forecasts and more valid ICC estimates.Originality/valueThe study contributes novel results to the literature on the validity of cross-sectional earnings models in forecasting IPO firm earnings and estimating the ICC. The findings are directly relevant for practitioners, who can improve their earnings forecasting accuracy for IPO firms and related ICC estimates. The insights can be extended to other settings where investors have limited access to financial information, such as acquisitions of private targets.

Intended use of IPO proceeds and initial returns

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the effects of the intended use of initial public offerings (IPO) proceeds that is disclosed in the prospectus on IPO initial returns.Design/methodology/approachA sample of IPOs listed on Bursa Malaysia from 2005 to 2015 is used. The intended use of IPO proceeds is categorised into three uses, namely, growth opportunities, debt repayment and working capital. In addition to ordinary least squares regression, the study applies a more sophisticated and robust approach using the quantile regression technique.FindingsThe results show that the intended use of IPO proceeds for growth opportunities and working capital is positively associated with IPO initial returns, whereas debt repayment is negatively associated with IPO initial returns. When the intended use of IPO proceeds for growth opportunities is further expanded into capital expenditure (CAPEX) and research and development (R&D), the intended use of IPO proceeds for CAPEX is positively associated with IPO initial returns, whereas R&D is negatively associated with IPO initial returns.Research limitations/implicationsThese findings suggest that intended use of IPO proceeds provides useful information about IPO initial returns and investors can use this information as guidance to make informed decisions. In addition, regulatory authorities should pay close attention to the amount allocated to each intended use of IPO proceeds as this may play a critical role in the success of a company and the economy.Originality/valueThis study gives new empirical evidence on the desire and motivations of IPO and the usefulness of designated use of IPO proceeds disclosed in the prospectus in explaining IPO initial returns.

The long-run performance of SME IPOs in India: empirical evidence from Indian stock market

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the pattern of long-run performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) initial public offerings (IPOs) and examine the firm- and issue-related determinants of long-run performance of SME IPOs in India.Design/methodology/approachThe 3 6, 9 and 12 months share returns of Indian SME IPOs is studied using event time methodologies, i.e. buy and hold returns, cumulative abnormal returns and wealth relatives on a sample of 375 SME IPOs issued during February 2012 to May 2018. Additionally, ordinary least square regression has been used to investigate the determinants of long-run performance of SME IPOs on a reduced sample of 104 because of non-availability of price observations.FindingsThe findings reveal that Indian SME IPOs exhibit long-run overperformance contradicting the international evidences of underperformance, and this overperformance is significantly evident using buy and hold abnormal return (BHAR). Furthermore, based on the divergence of opinion hypothesis, fads theory and windows of opportunity hypothesis, the results reveal that on one hand, issue size and oversubscription negatively affect BHAR, while on the other hand, auditor reputation, underwriter reputation, hot market, underpricing, inverse of issue price, profits prior to listing positively affect long-run performance. However, firm age, firm size, debt equity ratio, volatility and long-run performance computed through BHAR lacks significant relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThe study relied on event time methodology of measuring aftermarket performance of one year because of the limited availability of price offerings. Hence, the study could be extended to analyze aftermarket returns over a period of three to five years to enable reaching the vivid conclusions. Calendar time methodology may also be used to compute abnormal returns.Practical implicationsThe results based on the study provides an implication to the investors by providing them an opportunity to bank higher long-run returns by engaging in active and timely trading strategies. Nevertheless, the results also show that investors should be cautioned while taking investment decisions.Originality/valueThe study contributes to rising body of international literature by analyzing the larger and recent sample of IPOs issued from 2012 to 2018 listed on SME exchange.

The Underpricing of Sin Stocks

Sin firms engage in alcohol, tobacco, and game-related business activities. Using a sample of initial public offerings (IPOs), we examine the performance of sin and non-sin firm IPOs. We find that sin firm IPOs are more underpriced than non-sin firm IPOs after controlling for pre-issuance firm and issuance characteristics, such as asset size, firm age, lead underwriter’s reputation rank, listing exchange, and issuance size, providing further confirming evidence to the shunned-stock hypothesis and reasons for increased interest in alternative investments. Our research enriches the current literature on sin firms and IPOs. TOPICS:Portfolio theory, portfolio construction Key Findings • Sin firms have a unique return characteristic, which may be the result of investment firms’ focusing on more socially acceptable firms. • As the general sentiment surrounding socially responsible (or acceptable) investments continues to gain strength, investors who are willing to provide capital to sin firms may be able to obtain a reputational risk premium. • As social norms and the legal environment (e.g., cannabis and sports gambling legalization) continue to evolve, asset managers need to be aware of the potential return characteristics of new equity offerings from nontraditional firms.

The persistence of current market valuation of future capital investment

AbstractThis paper examines the valuation of future potential capital spending and research and development expense (capital investment) in current market value of equity. The purpose of this study is to develop an option modelling technique which can be used by financial analysts to assist in measuring the current market value of future new capital spending and the persistence of the value of capital investment. A capital investment Delta is developed, using option pricing modelling, as an indicator of productive future capital investment. This study uses a sample of initial public offerings (IPOs), which went public during the years, 2004 through 2015. The metrics are computed at the end of the second year after going public and then regressed on the next year NASDAQ adjusted stock return. The results of the study indicate that productive future capital investment, as developed in the current study, is persistent and is significantly associated with a firm's future stock performance.

Long-Term Equity Performance in Poland – Searching for Answers with the Calendar-Time Portfolio Approach

Abstract Research background: The study examines the performance of companies that are going public with equity issuance (IPO) in Poland. Purpose: Some scholars argue that the buy-and-hold strategy that has been quite widely used suffers from cross correlation and the “bad model” problem. Hence, the calendar-time portfolio approach is used to extend the methodology. Research Methodology: The empirical procedure is two-step. At the beginning, we calculate an average abnormal return for the portfolio of IPOs firms. The portfolio is rebalanced each month. Next, the risk-adjusted performance is measured by regressing returns on a multifactor time-series regression model. We employ the Fama-French (1993) three-factor model and CAPM for the robustness check. Results: In a sample of IPOs listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, we find negative and highly significant abnormal returns. Alphas are statistically significant in all of the Fama-French regressions and in most of the cases for CAPM. Novelty: This paper discusses the puzzle of the long-term equity performance of initial public offerings (IPOs) using the calendar-time portfolio approach. Our results point to the economic and statistical significance of long-term IPO underperformance.

Voluntary Disclosure and Firm Visibility: Evidence From Firms Pursuing an Initial Public Offering

We draw on Merton (1987) to develop predictions for the benefits of voluntary disclosures made by firms pursuing an initial public offering (IPO) prior to providing regulated financial information via an IPO prospectus. For our sample of IPOs, we find that voluntarily issuing press releases and attending investor and industry conferences prior to filing the IPO prospectus are common disclosure activities. Consistent with Merton (1987), we find that pre-prospectus disclosures are positively associated with IPO pricing, EDGAR search activity by prospective investors, and coverage from information intermediaries during the IPO filing period. On the other hand, we find no empirical relation between pre-prospectus disclosures and adverse selection costs immediately following the offering. Our evidence suggests that pre-prospectus voluntary disclosures benefit firms by enhancing visibility with prospective investors and information intermediaries.

Going concern opinions and IPO pricing accuracy

In a marked shift, it has become relatively more common for ordinary initial public offerings (IPOs) to contain going concern opinions (GCOs) in their offering documents. Examining the implications of such GCOs for IPO investors in a sample of ordinary IPOs from 2001 to 2012, we find that GCOs increase price accuracy by reducing price revisions and underpricing. Further, we show that GCO IPOs with reputable underwriters experience higher price revisions. Our underpricing analysis supports the lawsuit avoidance theory. We also provide novel evidence that the market can distinguish between temporarily constrained GCO IPOs and those with persistent problems that receive a second GCO post-IPO. Overall, this paper contributes to the existing literature by shedding light on whether GCOs contained in IPO prospectuses provide material information and result in better pricing mechanisms.

Urban Economic Openness and IPO Underpricing

This paper represents a first attempt to employ a macroeconomic approach to explain the high and varying IPO underpricing within a single emerging market. We examine the empirical impact of trade openness on the short-run underpricing of initial public offerings (IPOs) using city-level data. Particularly, we argue that urban economic openness (UEO) has a significant impact on the productivity and on prices of both direct and indirect real estate due to productivity gains of companies in more open areas. This in turn positively affects the firm’s profitability, enhancing the confidence in local real estate markets and future company performance, hence decreasing the uncertainty of the IPO valuation. As a result, issuers have less incentive to underprice IPO shares. We use a sample of Chinese real estate IPOs, which offer a suitable laboratory thanks to their strong geographic investment patterns focused locally and a country with a highly heterogeneous openness across regions. Controlling for traditional firm- and issuing-specific characteristics of IPOs that are used for developed markets and Chinese-related features (i.e. listing location and state ownership), we find the evidence that companies investing in economically more open areas experience less IPO underpricing. Our results show great explanatory power and are robust to different specifications.

IPOs Performance Analysis: Evidence from Emerging Markets in the Balkans

Abstract The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance of initial public offerings (IPOs) in the emerging markets with particular focus on the markets of Balkan countries. The paper provides analysis of long and short performance of IPOs. In the Balkan emerging markets IPOs are relatively rarely used. Although all observed Balkan countries have gone through processes of transition from planned economies to market economies in the past 25 years, just a few state-owned companies have been privatized by use of IPOs. Due to this specific nature of the companies the analyzed sample of IPOs is comprised of state-owned and non-state-owned companies. The results are interpreted and expounded accordingly, taking into consideration the aforementioned conjunction. The findings indicate that company characteristics, signalling variables and financial variables have influence on the IPOs short and long term performance. The paper provides academia and policymakers with new revelations concerning the IPO processes in Balkan emerging economies’ capital markets.

Split-share structure reform and the underpricing of Chinese initial public offerings

ABSTRACTThis paper analyses whether the extreme underpricing of initial public offerings (IPOs) in China has been alleviated by the split-share structure reform in 2005. As an external policy shock to IPO firms, this Reform was designed to convert non-tradable shares into tradable shares, with the potentials to restore the distorted supply–demand relationship of newly issued shares and reduce the information asymmetry in Chinese stock market. Analysing a sample of IPOs in China from 2000 to 2011, we find that the split-share structure reform significantly reduced the magnitude of IPO underpricing since 2005. It had different impacts on the IPO shares issued by state-owned enterprise (SOEs) and non-SOEs. While IPO shares issued by SOEs and non-SOEs had similar underpricing rates before the Reform, non-SOE IPOs show lower underpricing than those of SOEs after the Reform. Furthermore, compared with IPOs issued by SOEs controlled by the central government, those issued by local governments controlled SOEs are more underpriced after the Reform.

The effect of capital gains taxes on the initial pricing and underpricing of IPOs

We investigate the extent to which capitalization of expected capital gains taxes and the lock-in effect induced by the capital gains tax rate differential simultaneously impact the pricing and underpricing of initial public offerings (IPOs). Using a large sample of IPOs from 1987 to 2010, we estimate regressions of offer prices and first-day underpricing on tax rates. Supporting tax capitalization, IPO offer prices decrease in long-term capital gains taxes. Supporting lock-in, IPO underpricing increases in the long-term and short-term tax rate differential. These effects are consistent with capital gains taxes simultaneously reducing IPO proceeds and exacerbating IPO underpricing.

Are Voluntary Internal Controls-Related Audit Report Disclosures Informative in IPOs?

Initial public offering (IPO) companies are exempt from Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, leaving investors to assess the quality of an IPO company’s internal controls, which affect the quality of management-provided financial information, without an opinion on internal controls effectiveness from management or the external auditor. When not engaged to opine on the effectiveness of internal controls, auditing standards permit auditors to voluntarily state that their opinion does not extend to internal control effectiveness. Given auditors’ limited ability to distinguish financial reporting quality in the unqualified audit report, the costly nature of audit report modifications, and auditors’ litigation risk concerns, these auditor voluntary internal controls-related disclosures are likely informative as to the quality of internal controls. Using a sample of IPOs completed on United States equity exchanges from 2005 through 2014, I predict and find that auditor voluntary internal controls-related disclosure is associated with a higher likelihood of post-IPO auditor-reported internal control deficiencies, higher IPO accounting and auditing expenses, lower post-IPO returns, and lower post-IPO earnings. These associations are robust to addressing the endogenous nature of the auditor’s disclosure decision. Overall, my results suggest that auditor voluntary disclosures are informative. This research should be of interest to investors, regulators tasked with reforming the audit reporting model, and legislators who recently passed Title I of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act that exempts qualifying IPO companies from Section 404(b) reporting requirements for up to five years.

Liquidity Benefits from IPO Underpricing: Ownership Dispersion or Information Effect

The positive correlation between initial underpricing and liquidity in the secondary market several months after an initial public offering (IPO) has previously been attributed to ownership dispersion induced by underpricing. We find that public information production is another channel by which underpricing improves liquidity. Using a sample of IPOs from Euronext, we find that analyst coverage engendered by initial underpricing reduces information asymmetry costs and illiquidity in the secondary market. The impact of information asymmetry is statistically more significant on measures based on adverse selection costs than on those based on the proportion of informed traders in the market.