In this study we examine how Specified Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) were used as a financing tool for companies in the shipping industry in period 2004-2011. We confirm that SPACs focused on acquisitions in the shipping industry have similar characteristics as the population of SPACs...

We propose a model of investment, duration, and exit strategies for start-ups backed by venture capital (VC) funds that accounts for the high level of uncertainty, the asymmetry of information between insiders and outsiders, and the discount rate. Our analysis predicts that start-ups backed by...

A Specified Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) is formed to purchase operating businesses within a priori determined time period. SPACs existed in U.S capital markets since the 1920s. Their corporate structure has recently become debated in the legal and financial literatures, especially their...

We document the changes of corporate design of modern Specified Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) from 2003 to 2012. We assign the impact on changes of SPACs to each of the three groups of stakeholders: founders, investors and underwriters and test whether institutional characteristics of...

This paper analyses the effects of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) market on real investment decisions in emerging industries. We first propose a model of IPO timing based on divergence of opinion among investors and short-sale constraints. Using a real option approach, we show that firms are...

We compare and contrast the performance of cross-border and domestic venture capital (VC) investments in terms of the time it takes VC backers to exit portfolio companies through initial public offering (IPO), trade sale (M&A), or other routes. Initial analysis suggests that cross-border...

In this study we examine how Specified Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) were used as a financing tool for companies in the shipping industry in period 2004-2011. We confirm that SPACs focused on acquisitions in the shipping industry have similar characteristics as the population of SPACs...

We analyse the characteristics of lockup agreements of IPOs on the Neuer Markt and the Nouveau Marche from 1996 to 2000.Even though both markets were part of the same EuroNM network, the characteristics of their lockup agreements are substantially different.Firm characteristics have a major...

This paper investigates the potential benefits provided by the directorship of CEOs in trade associations. Specifically, we argue that directorship in trade associations enhances the personal connections (social networks) of CEOs, translating into bank loan favors. Empirically, we find that...

During the recent financial crisis, corporate borrowing and capital expenditures fall sharply. Most existing research links the two phenomena by arguing that a shock to bank lending (or, more generally, to the corporate credit supply) caused a reduction in capital expenditures. The economic...