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Review of Financial Studies Vol. 14 No. 2 2001

Underpricing and Entrepreneurial Wealth Losses in IPOs: Theory and Evidence

Michel A. Habib1; Alexander Ljungqvist2,3

1 London Business School · 2 New York University · 3 Center for Economic and Policy Research

Abstract

We model owners as solving a multidimensional problem when taking their firms public. Owners can affect the level of underpricing through the choices they make in promoting an issue, such as which underwriter to hire or on what exchange to list. The benefits of reducing underpricing in this way depend on the owners’ participation in the offering and the magnitude of the dilution they suffer on retained shares. We argue that the extent to which owners trade off underpricing and promotion is determined by the minimization of their wealth losses. Evidence from a sample of U.S. initial public offering confirms our empirical predictions.

DOI
10.1093/rfs/14.2.433
Volume
14
Issue
2
Pages
433-458
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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