This study evaluates the economics of the choice of form of payout initiation mechanism adopted by IPO firms. Our results suggest that IPO firms demonstrate a preference for repurchases over dividends as the specific form of payout initiation mechanism. We however, find that while the market...

While shell companies are convenient vehicles for small private firms to go public via a reverse merger, they are also often mentioned in the popular press in conjunction with stock price manipulation. Recently the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has imposed stricter rules on these...