Year: 1995
Type: report
Abstract: This paper analyzes the determinants of initial public offerings (IPOs) in Italy. We compare the ex ante and the ex post characteristics of IPOs with those of a large sample of privately held companies. The likelihood of an IPO is positively related to the company's size and the industry's market-to-book ratio. Companies appear to go public not to finance future investments and growth, but rather to rebalance their accounts after a period of high investment and growth. IPOs are also followed by a reduction in the cost of credit and an increased turnover in control. These findings highlight some important differences between the role played by the equity market in Italy (and likely in other Continental European countries) and in the United States. This paper is part of the research project on "The decision to go public and the stock market as a source of capital," promoted by the Ente "Luigi Einaudi" per gli studi monetari bancari e finanziari. The suggestions we received from Espen E...
DOI: 10.3386/w5367
Authors: Marco Pagano, Fabio Panetta, Luigi Zingales
Language: English
Subfield: Finance
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2116213817