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Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis Vol. 60 No. 1 2025

Merger-Driven Listing Dynamics

B. Espen Eckbo1; Markus Lithell2

1 Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business and Norwegian School of Economics · 2 Norwegian School of Economics

open access

Abstract

Stock-market effectiveness in attracting and retaining firms under public ownership depends not only on stand-alone firms’ net listing benefits but also on gains from merging with a public acquirer. Using a novel merger-adjusted listing count, we show that the dramatic (≈50%) post-1996 U.S. listing decline—often attributed to declining listing benefits—is reversed as the “missing” firms de facto continue existing inside their public acquirers. Our merger adjustment also eliminates the U.S. listing gap, pointing instead to a distinct U.S. listing advantage: providing access to a well-functioning market for complex merger transactions.

DOI
10.1017/s0022109023001394
Volume
60
Issue
1
Pages
209-257
Language
en
Sources
openalex bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref

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