This thesis examines the initial performance of private equity-backed IPOs in relation to non-private-equity-backed IPOs listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and Nasdaq First North Growth Market during the years 2011-2021. It further measures the effect of independent variables on the return after the first day- and first week of trading as well as if the first day performance impacts the first week performance. Previous research finds that IPOs in general are underpriced, and that private equity-backed IPOs tend to perform poorer than non-private-equity-backed IPOs on the first day of trading. Previous research further finds that underpriced IPOs have poor aftermarket performance since the issues usually decline during the first couple of days of trading, subsequently converging towards a lower price rapidly after listing, making it less profitable to invest in an IPO in the aftermarket. Univariate and multivariate analyses test this and the findings indicate that the first day return impacts the first week performance. It also finds that larger private equity-backed IPOs are underpriced and show poorer first day performance compared with larger non private-equity-backed-IPOs. Yet, this is not found to hold for the total sample covering all offering sizes. However, our findings cannot confirm that private equity-backed IPOs would show poorer performance compared with non-private-equity-backed IPOs after the first week of trading. Among the independent variables, the nominal offer price was found to have a significant impact on the first day return alongside with which stock exchange the company was listed on.

Conducting an IPO allows companies to obtain external capital from investors in exchange for ownership stakes. The capital raised in an IPO is intended to finance the company's economic growth and expansion. A challenge regarding IPOs is the pricing of shares. The study aims to investigate whether there is a relationship between industry affiliation and underpricing in IPOs on Nasdaq Stockholm and First North. The study will also examine whether underpricing differs between IPOs on First North and Nasdaq Stockholm and whether there is a relationship between market conditions and underpricing. The sample of the study consists of 197 companies operating in the Data/IT, Real Estate, Finance, Manufacturing Industry, and Pharmaceutical industries between 2017-2023. The study uses a chi 2 test and t-tests in order to answer the research questions.  The results of the study shows that there is a statistically significant relationship between underpricing and the Swedish stock market. The average underpricing was 8,99% for all IPOs in the sample. Furthermore, the study's results indicate that there is no significant relationship between industry affiliation and underpricing. Future research could examine how IPOs in the selected industries perform over time.