We study the operating, financial, and ownership structure characteristics of newly listed firms which become acquisition targets shortly after their initial public offerings. We examine whether such firms get acquired because of their successful performance or as an alternative to delisting. We...

Prior literature (e.g., Brav and Gompers, 1997) establishes that the average VC-backed IPO does not outperform benchmarks. In this paper, we show, by accounting for VC holdings, that the average VC-backed IPOs does outperform as long as the VC is still present. This outperformance continues...

Higher first-year post-issue returns are associated with a significantly higher probability of follow-on equity issuance over the next 5 years. This result holds when we control for pre-issue returns and other factors known to affect the probability of equity issuance. The result is most...

Public attention to a firm may provide valuable monitoring, but it may also have a dark side by constraining management’s decisions and distracting it. We use inclusion in the S&P 500 index as a positive shock to public attention. Media coverage, Google searches, SEC downloads, SEC comment...

Public attention to a firm may provide valuable monitoring, but it may also have a dark side by constraining management's decisions and distracting it. We use inclusion in the S&P 500 index as a positive shock to public attention. Media coverage, Google searches, SEC downloads, SEC comment...

This article examines the factors that determine IPO success in raising equity capital, and how this success translates into investor success. The study is based on a sample of IPOs on the Warsaw Stock Exchange from 1998 to 2011. We find that pre-IPO profitability is a strong and positive signal...

This paper studies how institutional characteristics of Specified Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) are related to their post-merger survival. SPACs are unique financial firms that conduct the IPO with the solely purpose to use the proceeds to acquire another private company. Paper finds...

Potential investors examine governance characteristics prior to an initial public offering (IPO) to assess the quality and prospects of the issuing firm. One important governance characteristic is board financial expertise, as it provides directors with the relevant knowledge for an IPO process...

This paper explores the determinants of IPO prices and studies the relationship between price choice of firms going public and post-issue stock performance and firm characteristics. I find that IPO prices positively relate to median industry prices, underwriter reputation, and book-to-market...

This working paper is written by Gaofeng Han (Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research), Hui Miao (International Monetary Fund) and Zhitao Lin (Jinan University).This paper compares Chinese firms’ IPO performance both in the short- and the long-run on domestic and overseas...