We examine whether financial conglomeration enhances efficiency of capital allocation or conflicts of interest, focusing on pricing and allocation of IPO stocks in Japan. Regarding underwriting of IPO stocks, our results are consistent with the bank certification hypothesis. As for IPO...

Suppose IPO underpricing increases with underwriters' reputation. This study demonstrates higher underpricing is compatible with higher credibility of underwriting by reputable underwriters. Consistent with stated inference, increase in valuation uncertainty risk, and severity of adverse...

Using a unique dataset of dealer-level trading data in bookbuilding IPOs, we find strong evidence that lead underwriter trades in IPO firms are significantly related to subsequent IPO abnormal returns. This relation is concentrated among issues in which underwriters' information advantage is...

We hypothesize that VC-backing garners greater “investor attention” (Merton (1987)) for IPOs, allowing IPO underwriters to perform two information-related roles more efficiently during the book-building and road-show process: information dissemination, where the lead underwriter disseminates...

This paper examines the debt underwriting relationship for banks. Publicly-traded investment and commercial banks (“banks”) are unique as they are the only firms capable of underwriting their own securities. In nearly 30% of their debt issuances, banks hire another underwriter and do so...

We study the innovation activity of firms going public and find that post-IPO innovation activity is highly associated with pre-IPO innovation activity at both venture-capital- and non-venture-capital-backed firms. This persistence in innovation suggests that firms' pre-IPO innovation experience...

Clustering of IPO underwriting spreads at 7% poses two important puzzles: Is the market for U.S. equity underwriting services anti-competitive and why do equity underwriters invest in reputation-building? This study resolves both puzzles. Modeling endogeneity of firm-underwriter choice using a...

We compare the motivations for switching underwriters between seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) for both shelf offerings and traditional offerings. Shelf offerings have risen in importance and accounted for more than 90% of SEOs in 2015. In traditional offerings, the underwriter is selected...

We investigate how information is incorporated into initial public offering (IPO) share prices. We find that greater uncertainty about the value of a firm's shares is associated with more prospectus disclosures concerning the firm's competitive environment and a more conservative anticipated...

This paper examines the role of multiple lead underwriters (MLUs) in pricing initial public offerings (IPOs) by considering certification and market power hypotheses. Consistent with the notion that MLUs provide certification to the issue, we find that IPOs backed by MLUs price the offer closer...