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Journal of Financial Economics Vol. 85 No. 3 2007

Why are IPOs underpriced? Evidence from Japan's hybrid auction-method offerings

Frank Kerins1; Kenji Kutsuna2; Richard L. Smith3

1 Montana State University · 2 Kobe University · 3 Claremont Graduate University

Abstract

We document discretionary underpricing and partial adjustment of IPO prices in the public offer tranche of Japan's hybrid auction regime, in which investor information differences are not important, there are no roadshows, preferential allocations are negligible, institutional investing is low, and the public offer tranche cannot fail. The magnitude and variation of underpricing in our sample, which spans relatively hot and cold markets, are similar to those reported for US IPOs. The evidence is most consistent with underpricing arising from an implicit contract to allocate risk related to initial mispricing where, in exchange for guaranteeing a minimum price, the underwriter participates indirectly in upside performance. The results raise important questions about interpretations of IPO underpricing in the US.

DOI
10.1016/j.jfineco.2006.06.006
Volume
85
Issue
3
Pages
637-666
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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