This paper explores the stock market as a source of funding for innovation by looking at the ability of the stock market to attract, identify and channel funds to innovative firms. We analysed 541 IPOs on the Swedish stock market between the years 2000-2015, using patent applications as a proxy for innovation. Results from an event study and regressions using two control groups show that firms find the stock market an attractive source of funding for innovation and that going public helps firms overcome liquidity restraints. By looking at the long- and short-term performance, measured by stock prices, of innovative firms by conducting OLS regressions, our results suggest; one, that there is an initial demand for innovative companies undergoing an IPO in comparison to non-innovative firms. And two, that investors are able to predict future innovativeness to some extent, but that they have some difficulties in anticipating future performance of innovative firms.

This study examines the specific ways in which private equity firms influence their portfolio companies to enhance their value, with a focus on the relationship between the level of retained ownership and post-IPO performance. Private Equity firms influence their portfolio companies in specific ways to enhance their value. Private Equity firms are typically limited partnerships, and to realize the value created during the life of the investment, the exit strategy is crucial. An initial public offering is stated as the preferable exit. However, private equity firms usually stay invested in their portfolio companies for up to several years after an initial public offering. Their retained ownership is crucial for underpricing at the IPO and performance post-IPO. This study aims to discover this relationship and to determine its effects. It will contribute to understanding how the portfolio companies' price changes on the first day of trading and their performance, in the long run, is affected by the stake held by the private equity firms. This research will try to clarify the current uncertainty about the effect of underpricing that prevails. It will also fill the existing gap in the academic literature about performance. It can also be potentially helpful for investors. Given knowledge about how retained ownership by PE firms affects underpricing at the IPO and performance post-IPO, this study can help investors to make better investment decisions. However, it should not be seen as investment advice but rather as a contribution to increasing the investor's understanding and knowledge. Publicly listed portfolio companies in the Nordic region constitute the sample for the analysis, and pooled OLS is the econometric method used in this study. We utilized a panel dataset for performance and obtained 2411 unique observations. The long-run performance has been measured as 36 months following the IPO. Our findings indicate a positive relationship between the level of ownership held by the PE firm and both underpricing and performance. These relationships are both statistically significant on the 1% level. Control variables were also included to capture other possible factors that might impact our dependent variables. The positive relationship between the level of ownership held by the PE firm and performance was in line with previous similar research and our expectations. However, the relationship between the PE firm's level of ownership and underpricing was the opposite of what we expected. Previous research has also presented contradictory results, making it difficult to predict the relationship. We hope our results have contributed to clarity regarding underpricing and broadening existing literature about performance for private equity-backed companies.

In this thesis, I investigate the amount of underpricing in FinTech companies compared to non-FinTech companies. Both data sets contain thirty companies spanning from 1993 to 2018. Each FinTech company is matched to a non-FinTech company by year and comparatively similar revenue. Prior research explores underpricing on different industries, but it hasn’t yet explored underpricing in the FinTech segment. The variables considered in this paper are offer price, close price, shares offered, number of banks involved, fees per share, and money left on the table. I find some evidence that the average amount of underpricing in both dollars and by percent is higher with non-FinTech companies than FinTech companies. However, difference in means tests show statistically significant differences only for the number of shares offered. It cannot be reliably said whether investors perceive a higher risk in FinTech companies or non-FinTech companies.

The implication that first day returns of initial public offerings are a consequence of the imbalance of power between issuer and underwriter has been suggested more than it has been tested. An important tool in such an analysis has been missing. Using a resource contribution approach to bargaining power, measures of underwriter and issuer power are created. Significant results with both measures show that consistent with theory, underwriter power is positively associated with underpricing, while issuer power's association is negative. The underwriter power measure compares favorably in this study to Carter-Manaster's prestige measure. The theory presented also suggests that issuers and underwriters engage in a short-term cooperative agreement to bring critical resources to issuers to enhance their initial public offering. Contributed resources form the basis for each firms bargaining power which is strongest when setting the initial file price. Results show the importance of resource power on the distribution of proceeds and how power changes during the registration process. Finally this theory expands signaling theory and suggests that issuers under the influence and direction of their underwriter make pre-IPO organizational changes to send signals of quality to preemptively address investor's concerns. These pre-IPO gambits are intended to increase IPO proceeds, but come at a price. Theories of power are used to create a measure of the relative strength of these actors and find that making TMT changes significantly decreases underpricing. Although underwriter power is significantly associated with change, relative power does not reduce the amount of change signaled. / Business Administration

This dissertation consists of two essays. The first provides evidence that the recent revival of shelf equity offers is related to changes in how firms use shelf registration. During 1990-2003 firms that make shelf filings have no immediate intent and low probability of issuance, lower pre-filing returns relative to non-shelf issuers, and often have been certified in prior SEOs. The evidence indicates that the way firms now use shelf offerings resolves the under-certification problem responsible for the shelf demise in the 1980s (Denis, 1991) and results in smaller market penalties and lower underwriter fees relative to non-shelf offerings. This allows firms with greater uncertainty to take advantage of the shelf option to defer or abandon offers. Additionally, firms often use universal shelf filings and choose between debt and equity offerings based on the prevailing relative market conditions. The second essay examines offer price discounting of traditional and shelf-registered seasoned equity offerings (SEOs). The results indicate that relative to traditional SEOs, shelf discounting during 1982 - June 2004 is similar in magnitude, is influenced by the same factors, and has increased similarly over time. Prior studies attribute the time-series increase of seasoned offer discounting to pre-offer short sale constraints (Rule 10b-21; adopted in 1988). This study provides insights about the effect of Rule 10b-21 by exploiting the fact that shelf-registered offerings were exempt from this regulation until September 2004. The analysis uses the shelf exemption as a control in testing the Rule's effect, and the elimination of the exemption as an "out-of-sample" test. The results suggest that Rule 10b-21 is not associated with the increase in seasoned offer discounts. The gradual increase in discounting over the past two decades is largely due to a shift in the composition of issuers toward firms that have greater stock volatility and pre-offer price uncertainty. / Ph. D.

This dissertation includes two chapters that investigate the role venture capitalists (VCs) play in the underpricing and in the long-run performance of IPOs. The first chapter focuses on the underpricing of IPOs and attempts to determine the role that VCs play in this underpricing process. The evidence is consistent with a view that VCs agree to underpricing to ascertain benefits from both "grandstanding" and "spinning." The second chapter examines the long-run performance of IPOs and tries to determine the role that VCs play in the development of IPOs. Here, the evidence suggests that VC-backed IPOs appear to have better access to capital than non-VC-backed IPOs, but the long-run performance of VC-backed IPOs is generally mixed.

本研究旨在深入探討中國大陸證券市場的會計規範系統，並以中國大陸 新上市股票的股價行為為例，俾驗證中國大陸會計規範系統的有效性。所 謂證券市場的會計規範系統意指股票上市公司財務資訊公開揭露的規範， 其目的在於確定財務報表的品質與對投資大眾公開的程度。而在大陸資本 市場中，因為會計自律組織不彰，因此與自律組織有關的自律規範皆由官 方制定，亦即財務報表品質的確定與財務資訊對大眾公開的程度由官方決 定並制定為規則。於相關的文獻探討中得知，會計資訊與新上市股票上市 價差的關係相當密切。會計資訊品質越佳，上市價差越小。所以，利用上 市價差來評估會計規範體系的合理性與有效性係適當的方法。據此，本研 究以在上海及深圳證券交易所上市的Ａ股及Ｂ股公司為研究樣本，分別進 行單變量分析及兩樣本t 檢定。從上市價差的衡量與統計分析中得知：1. 無論是在上海證券交易所或深圳證券交易所上市之股票之報酬率及超額報 酬率，均顯著地異於零，且皆異常性地高。2.在股價報酬如許異常高漲的 大陸股市，其會計資訊被使用於股價決策的效率一定極低；也或許會計資 訊被使用於股價決策中，較諸其他相關資訊的權數低許多。3.中國大陸證 券市場會計規範系統並不具有效程度，亦即會計資訊的有用性低，所以股 價才顯現出如此異常行為。

<p>IPO underpricing is a phenomenon found in all markets worldwide. Investors are always looking for a good opportunity of short-term abnormal positive returns, and the IPOs first-day trading returns have been a good investment strategy for both institutional and private investors in all markets of the world.</p><p>This study consists at an investor’s perspective analysis of the first-day returns of 59 IPOs listed on the Brazilian Stock Exchange Market from January 2004 to April 2007, where I have found a significantly mean positive underpricing of 6,60%.</p><p>I have found also some evidences of a sprouting “hot-market” period in Brazil, since the number of the IPOs in Brazil has been growing almost in an exponential speed, taking advantage of the constant growing cash inflow and liquidity of the Brazilian market, followed by the high evaluation of the Ibovespa Index, with return of 140% on the study time frame.</p><p>When categorizing the study by year, by underwriter (investment bank) and by market segment, I always have found positive adjusted initial returns, which corroborates the fact that underpricing is a constant phenomenon in the Brazilian market.</p><p>Other important facts that were identified in this study is that the average returns of the IPOs are decreasing along the years and that companies that depend to a large extent on their human capital and are in the business areas that are staff intensive have a high level of underpricing while companies that have a high level of fixed assets have a low level of underpricing.</p><p>Finally, after performing a multivariate linear regression analysis with the chosen independent variables on the full sample and some categorized samples, the results did not have enough statistical significance and consistence that could make them useful to create a statistical model to explain the underpricing level of Brazilian IPOs between January 2004 and April 2007.</p>

IPO underpricing is a phenomenon found in all markets worldwide. Investors are always looking for a good opportunity of short-term abnormal positive returns, and the IPOs first-day trading returns have been a good investment strategy for both institutional and private investors in all markets of the world. This study consists at an investor’s perspective analysis of the first-day returns of 59 IPOs listed on the Brazilian Stock Exchange Market from January 2004 to April 2007, where I have found a significantly mean positive underpricing of 6,60%. I have found also some evidences of a sprouting “hot-market” period in Brazil, since the number of the IPOs in Brazil has been growing almost in an exponential speed, taking advantage of the constant growing cash inflow and liquidity of the Brazilian market, followed by the high evaluation of the Ibovespa Index, with return of 140% on the study time frame. When categorizing the study by year, by underwriter (investment bank) and by market segment, I always have found positive adjusted initial returns, which corroborates the fact that underpricing is a constant phenomenon in the Brazilian market. Other important facts that were identified in this study is that the average returns of the IPOs are decreasing along the years and that companies that depend to a large extent on their human capital and are in the business areas that are staff intensive have a high level of underpricing while companies that have a high level of fixed assets have a low level of underpricing. Finally, after performing a multivariate linear regression analysis with the chosen independent variables on the full sample and some categorized samples, the results did not have enough statistical significance and consistence that could make them useful to create a statistical model to explain the underpricing level of Brazilian IPOs between January 2004 and April 2007.

Background: The number of IPOs has been numerous in recent years. Moreover, the returns of the IPOs managed to either be over and underpriced. IPO-firms are generally unknown before they get listed. Therefore, the media outlets play an essential role in the dissemination of information to new investors. Thus, it becomes noteworthy to investigate whether media attention could be an explanatory factor for the first-day returns and how it affects an IPO in the short-term perspective. Research Questions: i) If the amount of media coverage two months pre-IPO has any relation with the first trading day return and ii) If the amount of media coverage helps to predict the IPOs stock return volatility after a two-month period (44 trading days)? Purpose: This research will attempt to find evidence if the amount of media coverage pre- IPO may drive the demand for the IPO and the first-day return. For this purpose, it is also necessary to find the under and/or overpricing. Furthermore, a regression analysis will be applied during a two-month period after the first trading day to investigate if increasing volatility depends on the amount of media coverage. Delimitations: The sample consists of 165 IPOs in Sweden from Aktietorget and OMX Stockholm during the period 2005-2017. IPOs are initial introductions that are not unit IPOs, mergers &amp; acquisitions, right issues, spin-offs or buy-out firms. Method: The first research question is explained by a Pearson correlation where X is the media variable and tested against the degree of under or overpricing. Furthermore, a multiple-linear regression is examined where variables market index, Retriever data and trading volume is tested against stock return. Conclusion: It has been identified that Aktietorget has been overpriced 2005-2017 by 2.9% while OMXS has been underpriced 6.8%. In summary, the study did not manage statistically to ensure that the amount of media coverage significantly influenced the stock return volatility.