The initial public offering (IPO) of a company is characterized by uncertainty, and a large body of research has focused primarily on underpricing. This study takes a different approach by examining the changes and composition of the board of directors in IPO companies and the effect on market valuation measured by the market-to-book ratio. A company's preparation for the IPO is argued to be made with value maximization features, and it is therefore interesting to see if the market assesses specific changes and the characteristics of the board of directors on the first day of trading. This study takes a starting point in agency theory, signaling theory, and the role of the board of directors in a company to protect and maximize shareholder value, in order to examine the effect on firm value. The sample consisted of 204 IPOs between 2018 and 2021 on Nasdaq Stockholm and First North Growth Market. The study has used multiple OLS regression models to examine the relationship between the board of directors' composition, characteristics, and market-to-book ratio. The findings suggest that an increase in the proportion of directors that have been subject to change two years or less before the IPO is negatively related to market valuation.

Context The number of Initial Public Offerings on the Swedish market has increasedrapidly over the last decade, reporting over 100 IPOs only in 2021. Although theincrease has been extraordinary, the majority of the IPO performance researchhas been conducted on larger markets such as the US, Germany, and China. Thiscreates a gap in the research regarding the performance of IPOs on the fastgrowing Swedish stock market.  Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to fill the identified research gap and examine howthe Swedish IPOs perform in relation to established firms listed on the OMXSSmall Cap. Findings on long-term over-or underperformance would lay afoundation for potential investment strategies as well as show signs ofinformation asymmetry and mispricing. To further extend the use of ourfindings, firm-specific factors will be tested in a regression model to find ifspecific firm characteristics have a positive or negative impact on the long-termperformance of the IPOs.  Questions at issue 1. Does the Swedish Initial Public Offerings over/underperform comparedto the OMXS Small Cap in the long run? 2. Which firm-specific factors affect the long-term performance of an IPO? Methodology To find if the IPOs over-or underperform the OMXS Small Cap index, the Buyand Hold Abnormal Returns over 24 and 36 months are calculated with theOMXS Small Cap as a benchmark index. Further, a regression analysis with 15explanatory variables is performed with the received BHAR results as thedependent variable to find if there are any significant relationships between thefirm-specific variables measured before the IPO and the long-term performance.  Results The Buy and Hold Abnormal Returns presented a positive abnormal return forboth periods measured, with a significant overperformance of 9,91% over the36-month period, and 21,14% for the 24-month period. Further, the regressionanalysis showed a positive relationship between firm performance and firm sizeand Return On Equity, indicating that a high ROE, as well as a larger firm sizeat the date of the listing, increases the chances of higher long-term returns.

The Nordic markets have in recent years been flooded by IPOs, which have attracted the attention of investors seeking to capitalise on the IPO market. Previous studies on the IPO market have found strong evidence of underpricing, which is increasing in good market conditons. Using a sample of 448 IPOs, this thesis have examinated how the IPOs in the Nordic region perfrom in the aftermarket during one year, dependent on the market conditon at the time of the issuance. The IPOs in the sample have been divided into subgroups based on the market condtion at the time of the issuance, and a totalt of three different defitnions of how the market conditoion is defined have been used. The abnormal return of the IPOs have furthermore been calculated against two alternative benchmarks to streanghen the validity of the result. The result of the study indicates that the underpricing of IPOs in the Nordic region is lower compared to other larger economies. Evidence have also been presented which show that the market condition at the time of the issuance greatly affects the return of the IPOs.

The purpose of this study is to identify what company specific parameters prior to an IPO have significant impact on share price performance one year after listing. This is done by analysing listings on the Stockholm Stock Exchange in the period 2014-2019.  The method which has been used is a multiple linear regression with adjusted share price as response variable and 7 specific company data points as independent variables. The share price development of companies is adjusted to the SIX Return Index and the 7 company variables cover size, growth, profitability and ownership. The results from the study imply that the independent variables covering size and profitability have the highest impact on share price performance after listing and that ownership had the least impact. The final model with the independent variables that had the highest relevance still only display a small significant correlation with an adjusted R2 = 0.09, which is understandable due to the nature of share prices not being able to be predicted one year into the future. Furthermore, the stock market is a large and complex system of many unknowns, which aggravates the process of simplifying and quantifying data of only one source into a regression model with high predictability. / Syftet med denna studie är att identifiera vilka företagsspecifika parametrar före en börsintroduktion som har en betydande inverkan på aktiekursutvecklingen ett år efter notering. Detta görs genom att analysera noteringar på Stockholmsbörsen från 2014 till 2019.  Metoden som har använts är en multipel linjär regression med justerad \\ aktiekursutveckling som responsvariabel och 7 specifika företagsdatapunkter som regressorer. Aktiekursutvecklingen i företag anpassas till SIX Return Index och de sju företagsvariablerna täcker storlek, tillväxt, lönsamhet och ägande. Resultaten från studien antyder att regressorer som täcker storlek och lönsamhet har störst inverkan på aktiekursutvecklingen efter notering och att ägandet hade minst påverkan. Den slutliga modellen med de regressorer som hade störst relevans visar fortfarande endast en liten signifikant korrelation med en justerad R2 = 0,09, vilket är förståeligt på grund av att aktiekursernas karaktär inte kan förutses ett år in i framtiden. Dessutom är aktiemarknaden ett stort och komplext system med många okända faktorer, vilket förvärrar processen att förenkla och kvantifiera data från endast en källa till en regressionsmodell med hög förutsägbarhet.

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 asymmetric information content of REIT IPOs as compared to that of industrial IPOs matched by similar asset size, underwriter reputation ranking, and partial adjustment of the offer-price from the midpoint of the original file range. The asymmetric information level is proxied by the relative bid-ask spread (RELSPREAD), adverse selection component of Glosten and Harris (GH, 1988), and the adverse selection component of Lin, Sanger, and Booth (LSB, 1995). All three measures are estimated over 45- and 60-day windows. Using a sample of 78 equity REIT IPOs and 123 Industrial IPOs for the period of January 1, 1993 to December 31, 2007, the results indicate that REIT IPOs have less asymmetric information content as compared to mature industrial firms. All results control for leverage, beginning assets size, issue proceeds, underpricing, partial adjustment, number of IPOs within the same year, venture capital backing, underwriter reputation, average daily volume, average daily price, specialist’s inventory risk, and the turnover ratio. The results also control for the Nasdaq and NYSE rule change of minimum tick increments from 1/8th to 1/16th on June 2, 1997, and June 24, 1997, respectively. The findings provide strong support for the hypothesis that REIT IPOs have less asymmetric information content than non-REIT IPOs.

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.

My dissertation consists of two papers, one in the area of investment and the second in the area of corporate finance. The first paper examines robustness of momentum returns in the US stock market over the period 1965 to 2012. We find that momentum profits have become insignificant since the late 1990s partially driven by pronounced increase in the volatility of momentum profits in the last 14 years. Investigations of momentum profits in high and low volatility months address the concerns about unprecedented levels of market volatility in this period rendering momentum strategy unprofitable. Past returns, can no longer explain the cross-sectional variation in stock returns, even following up markets. We suggest three possible explanations for the declining momentum profits that involve uncovering of the anomaly by investors, decline in the risk premium on a macroeconomic factor, growth rate in industrial production in particular and relative improvement in market efficiency. We study the impact of venture capital funds' (VC) liquidity concerns on the timing and outcome of their portfolio firms' exit events. We find that VC funds approaching the end of their lifespan are more likely to exit during cold exit market conditions. Such late exits are also less likely to be via initial public offerings (IPO). A one standard deviation increase in the age of a VC fund at the time of the exit event is associated with a 5 percentage points decline in the probability of an IPO vs. a trade sale from an unconditional probability of roughly 30%. Several tests indicate that the decline in IPOs with VC fund age is not caused by lower portfolio firm quality. Focusing on the aftermath of IPOs, VC-backed firms experience significantly larger trading volume and lower stock returns around lock-up expirations if they are backed by older funds, and this lock-up effect is amplified if there are multiple VC firms approaching the end of their lifespan. Altogether, our results suggest that the exit process is strongly influenced by VCs' liquidity considerations. / Ph. D.

Yes / This study examines the governance attributes of post-IPO (initial public offering) retained ownership of private equity in business group constituent firms in contrast to their unaffiliated counterparts, in 202 newly listed firms in 22 emerging African economies. We adopt an actor centered institutional-theoretic perspective in rationalizing institutional voids and the advantages of maintained governance by both business angels (BA) and venture capital (VC) private equity. Our findings reveal private equity retain higher post-IPO ownership in business group constituents compared to unaffiliated firms and that this is inversely moderated in the context of improving institutional quality – where this is particularly strong in case of foreign VC as opposed to domestic VC or BA. Our result adds to the literature on multifocal corporate governance mechanisms and the institutional determinants of private equity investment.

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.