Tidigare studier visar på ett samband mellan årstidsbunden depression och underprissättning vid börsintroduktioner på den amerikanska marknaden. Studien undersöker detta samband på börsintroduktioner genomförda i Sverige, där prevalensen av årstidsbunden depression är hög. Prevalensen och effekten av årstidsbunden depression skattas genom dagslängd och förändringen av dagslängden. För att besvara forskningsfrågan utförs tre regressionsanalyser på studiens urval bestående av 147 börsintroduktioner genomförda år 2006 till 2019 på Nasdaq OMX Stockholm och Nasdaq First North. Resultatet visar en genomsnittlig underprissättning på 8,2%. Däremot uppvisas inget signifikant samband mellan årstidsbunden depression och underprissättning.

The present PhD thesis deals with initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Czech capital market. Unlike the Czech Republic, financing company activities through IPOs is widespread globally and advanced capital markets utilize IPOs as a traditional means of raising funds for further enterprise development. If there were no chance to raise capital this way, the international financial system, and thereby also the economic system, would be different from what they are today. Considering that it is not common to finance enterprise development through IPOs on the Czech capital market, the thesis focuses on creating a comprehensive view of the issue of IPOs on the Czech market and aims to acquire new information in this field. This is why the thesis is divided into theoretical and practical sections. The theoretical section provides an analysis of the state of the art in the sphere of IPOs that is based on foreign literature since Czech literature offers only limited information regarding IPOs. As part of the analysis, the term ´initial public offering´ is defined and its Czech equivalent is proposed. The analysis further comprises the advantages and disadvantages linked to this type of financing, it describes the development of IPOs on foreign markets and, last but not least, it explains the cyclical character of IPOs. Specific phenomena accompanying IPOs in advanced markets are defined here. These are underpricing of issues and long-term lower performance of issuers in the post-IPO period. Another part of the theoretical section analyzes all significant costs related to IPOs. The practical section of the thesis, which focuses on the Czech capital market, determines major prerequisites for running an IPO as well as the way an IPO is done. A complex analysis of the causes behind the low number of IPOs in the Czech Republic is carried out and the results of quantitative research into the causes of little interest in financing enterprise development this way are presented. This is followed by an assessment of IPOs done in the Czech Republic so far and by introduction of the results of qualitative research examining particular issuers. In conclusion, the issue of IPOs is summed up and further perspectives of development are outlined.

Underprissättning vid en börsintroduktion (Initial Public Offering, IPO) har blivit ett uppmärksammat fenomen inom litteraturen för företagsfinansiering. Tidigare forskning har identifierat en trend att IPO:er är i genomsnitt underprissatta, och graden av underprissättning kan variera kraftigt. Men en enhetlig förklaring till denna variation har ännu inte kunnat fastslås. Fenomenet har studerats på internationella och lokala reglerade marknader, men ingen studie har hittills gjorts på en svensk oreglerad marknad. Syftet med uppsatsen är således att bidra till den existerande forskningen om underprissättning vid en börsintroduktion genom att undersöka huruvida det föreligger ett samband mellan resultatvolatilitet innan en börsintroduktion och graden av underprissättning av en IPO på den svenska marknaden. Urvalet består av 96 företag som noterats på First North Stockholm under åren 2017-2022, och för att undersöka sambandet genomförs en multipel linjär regressionsanalys. Vi kan konstatera att under den studerade tidsperioden var svenska IPO:er som noterats på First North i genomsnitt underprissatta med 6.52 %, och vi finner ett svagt stöd för vår hypotes att det föreligger ett positivt samband mellan resultatvolatilitet innan en börsintroduktion och underprissättning.

This study examines the long-run accuracy of analyst recommendations issued at the expiration of the initial public offering (IPO) quiet period and examines the relation between the Global Settlement, NYSE Rule 472, NASD Rule 2711, and analyst recommendations. It is expected that firms which receive positive recommendations will outperform the market and firms with neutral recommendations. In addition, it is expected that banks named in the Global Settlement will become more selective when issuing recommendations. This study examines firms engaging in IPOs from July 9, 2002 through December 31, 2005 and finds that analyst ratings have become more balanced following the Global Settlement, NYSE Rule 472, and NASD Rule 2711. When controlling for firm size, underpricing, rating heterogeneity, and analyst affiliation, firms which receive positive analyst ratings experience greater buy-and-hold abnormal returns than firms which do not. Furthermore, firms which receive multiple “buy” ratings outperform firms which receive only one “buy” rating when controlling for underpricing firm size, and the number of neutral ratings. Banks named in the Global Settlement appear to be more selective when issuing positive recommendations. Firms which receive a positive rating from a bank named in the Global Settlement outperform firms which receive a positive rating from a bank not named in the Global Settlement. Lastly, prior to the Global Settlement, it appears that sanctioned banks issued ratings one level higher than they should have. Firms which received positive ratings experienced neutral performance and firms which received natural ratings experienced negative performance. Since the Global Settlement, sanctioned banks appear to issue accurate ratings since positive ratings are associated with increased buy-and-hold abnormal returns and neutral ratings do not significantly impact firm performance.

This study has theoretical, substantive, and methodological objectives following Brinberg and McGrath (1985). First, the resource-based view of the firm provides a context to support relationships determined from theory in Sociology, Finance and Entrepreneurshp. Using these interdisciplinary theories, the expected contributions of National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) member venture capital firm networks' human-based factors to the performance of initial public offerings are examined. Second, the substantive domain-venture capital-lacks articulation and quantification regarding the impact of venture capital firms on the start-up firms they support, which in this study is identified as IPO performance. Third, methodologically, the operationalization of organizational-related capital is proposed. The independent variables (human-based factors) include reputational capital, cumulative experience, social capital, and organizational-related capital. Organizational-related capital is a construct representing a firm's strategy that incorporates preferences specific to the venture capital industry, namely financing stage preference, industry relatedness, and geographic proximity. Venture capital firm networks are assessed at the syndicate and constellation levels (within and between industries) and bounded by membership in the National Venture Capital Association. Abnormal IPO stock price performance (the dependent variable) is assessed as the new issue's stock price benchmarked to the NASDAQ index and compounded over 21-day periods for up to 126 consecutive days after offering. Control variables were gleaned from economic-based theories found in the finance literature. Positive relationships were hypothesized between the independent variables and the dependent variable. Data constraints limited the number of observations examined, and the selection of IPOs investigated displayed little variance. Thus, explaining additional abnormal performance variance in IPOs backed by NVCA-member venture capital firms above and beyond that controlled for by economic-based theory was not fruitful. Although this study's findings were not statistically significant, many insights were generated that may positively influence future research in this area. The quest to better understand venture capital firms' contributions to entrepreneurial firms and the impact they have on publicly traded stocks remains meaningful. / Ph. D.

This dissertation consists of two essays. The first essay develops a new methodology for estimating the probability of informed trading from the observed quotes and depths, by extending the Copeland and Galai (1983) model. This measure (PROBINF) can be computed for each quote and it represents the specialist's ex-ante estimate of the probability of informed trading. I show that PROBINF exhibits a strong and robust relationship with the observed level of insider trading and with measures of the price impact of trades (ë) estimated based on the models of Glosten and Harris (1988), Madhavan and Smidt (1991) and Foster and Viswanathan (1993). In contrast, the alternative measure of the probability of informed trading (PIN) developed by Easley, Kiefer, O'Hara and Paperman (1996) exhibits a weaker and less robust relationship with insider trading and price impact of trades. The time series pattern of PROBINF in an intra-day analysis around earnings announcement is consistent with previous findings regarding informed trading. An important advantage of PROBINF over PIN and other measures of information asymmetry such as price impact of trades and adverse selection component of the spread is that, unlike these measures, it can be estimated for each quote, and thus can also be used to measure intra-day changes in informed trading and information asymmetry. In the second essay, I examine whether the underwriting syndicate composition influences the secondary market liquidity for initial public offerings (IPOs). Specifically, I argue that co-managers improve the liquidity of IPOs through the other services they provide, besides market making. Using a comprehensive sample of initial public offerings completed between January 1993 and December 2005, I find that IPOs with a high number of co-managers in their syndicates have lower spreads and a lower level of information asymmetry in the aftermarket. I argue that the information produced during the premarket and the analyst coverage in the aftermarket are the main channels through which co-managers mitigate the information asymmetry risk in the secondary market. / Ph. D.

This study comprises an investigation of the timing of initial public offerings (IPOs) and the role therein, of investment banks, in taking firms public. Most prior studies of IPOs and seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) investigate timing with respect to firm-specific or economy-wide conditions. Also, the vast majority of prior studies have apparently ignored the role of market timing often ascribed to underwriters by practitioners. The analysis in this study elucidates the matter of the long-run post-issue performance of IPOs documented in the literature. Evidence is provided here about the timing of IPO firms relative to market conditions before and after their offerings. It is shown that firms are, on average, more likely to go public when the market valuation of comparable stocks in the same industry is at its peak relative to the entire market. No evidence is found of a pattern of IPO firms timing their offerings with respect to market-wide conditions. Further, this study shows that IPO timing is a function of the reputation of investment banks who have expertise in the financial market. It is found that the more reputable investment banks possess a greater proficiency than their lesser known counterparts, in taking companies public when the market valuation of comparable stocks in the same industry is high. These results are found to be invariant with regard to several statistical tests and alternative explanations. / Ph. D.

Syfte: Studien syftar till att utvärdera vilka faktorer som bidrar till att olika tillväxtbolag misslyckas eller lyckas med en IPO. Teoretisk referensram: Den teoretiska referensramen bygger på tidigare forskning om misslyckandet med börsnoteringar. Företagsspecifika variabler som ska undersökas presenteras. Dessutom redogörs för studiens hypoteser. Metod: Studien har använt en kvantitativ metod i form av logistisk regression. I den logistiska regressionen härleds samtliga variabler som presenterats i den teoretiska referensramen.  Empiri: Studien identifierade totalt 152 stycken IPOs på Nasdaq First North Growth Market under 2014-2018.  Analys och slutsats: Studien visar att äldre bolag tenderar att lyckas med en IPO i större utsträckning än yngre bolag. Med hjälp av sensitivitetsanalysen kunde vi påvisa ett signifikant samband mellan bruttomarginal och resultatet av IPO genom att utesluta fyra företag. Däremot lyckades vi inte påvisa något signifikant samband mellan resterande oberoende variabler: avkastning under första handelsdagen, ROA, soliditet och den beroende variabeln lyckad respektive misslyckad IPO.

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) are public shell entities uniquely constructed to acquire one or more privately held businesses. The transaction's structural characteristics put significant pressure on the management team's capabilities to find a suitable company to acquire within the predetermined time frame. This thesis investigates whether management team characteristics, such as operating experience and gender diversity, increases the likelihood of success in identifying the target company and conducting the merger. Although not statistically significant, the results indicate that SPACs led by “C-suite” operators do not have a higher likelihood of successfully consummating a business combination. Furthermore, our data indicates gender diversity to have a positive impact on acquisition likelihood. / Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) är publika skalbolag konstruerade enkom i syfte att förvärva ett eller flera privata bolag. Transaktionen lägger stor vikt på ledningens förmåga att identifiera och förvärva en eller flera verksamheter inom en förbestämd tidsram. Studien undersöker huruvida relevanta karaktärsdrag i ledningsgruppen, såsom operationell erfarenhet och skillnader i kön, ökar sannolikheten att identifiera och förvärva dessa bolag. Resultatet av studien påvisar inget samband mellan operationell erfarenhet och ökad sannolikhet för förvärv, men däremot visar sig skillnader i kön inom ledningsgruppen ha en positiv inverkan på sannolikheten för förvärv. Sammantaget är resultaten dock inte statistiskt signifikanta.

This study investigates the effects of insider entrenchment on Chief Executive Officer (CEO) compensation in firms conducting an initial public offering (IPO). The sample comprises 220 US firms that went public between 1996 and 2002. Corporate governance choices regarding entrenchment are captured by six provisions in the corporate charter and bylaws, as well as five anti-takeover statutes, which may or may not be in effect in the state of incorporation. Firm-level items are supermajority requirements for charter amendments, bylaws amendments, and merger approvals, along with the presence or absence of a staggered board of directors, poison pills, and golden parachute agreements. The anti-takeover laws examined are Business Combination, Control Share Acquisition, Fair Price, Poison Pill Endorsement, and Constituencies Statutes. A factor analysis reveals three distinct components of entrenchment: firm- and state-level external entrenchment and firm-level internal entrenchment. External entrenchment is related to market control over management by means of corporate takeovers; internal entrenchment relates to shareholder control over management by means of their voting power. Evidence is found for a positive association between entrenchment at IPO and subsequent CEO cash and total compensation. These relationships are driven by firm-level external entrenchment. Firm-level external entrenchment is also significantly and positively associated with CEO stock-based compensation. The positive effects of entrenchment at IPO on CEO compensation appear not to be transitory and remain constant for at least five years post-IPO. Furthermore, entrenchment at IPO is shown to affect CEO pay-for-performance sensitivity. On balance, entrenchment reduces the sensitivity of CEO compensation to stock returns and returns on assets. The results of this study underscore the crucial importance of insiders' governance decisions made at the time of the IPO. Little support is found for a re-balancing of components of the CEO's compensation contract in response to entrenchment as predicted under the optimal contracting theory of compensation contracts. The findings of this study are almost entirely consistent with the managerial power theory, according to which entrenchment at IPO causes a permanent shift in bargaining power, which enables CEOs to influence compensation contracts in their favor.