While the gains to acquirers in public mergers and aquisitions (M&A) tend to be small or non-existent, acquirers of unlisted targets have been a notable, robust exception. Prior studies often point to an illiquidity discount as the reason why these non-public targets are good deals for acquirers. This paper examines acquirer wealth gains and bid premia in M&A involving unlisted/listed firms over the past three decades. Our findings show that, while target listing status was a significant determinant of acquirer wealth gains and bid premium in early years, it no longer has significant shareholder wealth implications for either acquirers or targets in M&A. These results are consistent with recent studies that suggest a changing landscape in the public funding markets and an increased availability of alternative funding sources for unlisted firms.

The well-documented underperformance of lottery stocks masks a within-month cyclical pattern. Demand for lottery stocks increases at the turn of the month, especially in areas whose demographic profile resembles that of typical lottery-ticket buyers (i.e., gamblers), thus driving their prices higher. This effect is rooted in local retail investors’ preference for lottery stocks and propelled by the within-month cyclicality of local investors’ personal liquidity positions. A long-short investment strategy based on this cyclical pattern of lottery stocks’ performance yields gross abnormal returns of about 12.6% per year.