The Role of Admission Documents on the Pricing of UK Fixed Priced IPOs

Using text sentiment analysis, we investigate the impact of the length of prospectuses on IPO pricing for a sample of UK Fixed Priced IPOs between 2004 and 2012 and show more information in the prospectus improves price accuracy as longer admission documents exhibit higher offer price and less underpricing. We explain the effect on the offer price as the consequence of the “pilot fishing” stage which seems to characterize a lot of UK IPOs

Collective vs Individual Sale of TV Rights in League Sports

In many countries, the collective sale of TV rights by sports leagues has been challenged by the antitrust authorities.In several cases, however, leagues won in court, on the ground that sport cannot be considered a standard good.In this paper, we investigate the conditions under which the sale of TV rights collectively by sports leagues, rather than individually by teams, is preferred from a social welfare viewpoint.We find that collective sale is socially preferable when leagues are small, relatively homogeneous in terms of clout and where teams get little performance-related revenues.broadcasting industry;sport;broadcasting rights

Influence of extraction methods on the composition of essential oils of Achillea millefolium L. from Lithuania

In this study, flowering aerial parts of Achillea millefolium were used as a matrix for supercritical CO2 extraction (SFE) of volatile oil. The collected extracts were analyzed by GC-FID and GC-MS methods and their composition were compared with that of the essential oil isolated by hydrodistillation (HD). The composition of the essential oil obtained by hydrodistillation and SFE methods is widely different. Indeed, the SFE volatile oil had a pale yellow color whereas the HD oil had a blue color due to the presence of chamazulene (48.0% vs. 4.3%). Other important constituents of HD oil were (E)- caryophyllene (19.5 %) and γ-muurolene (13.1%). The CO2 supercritical extract was dominated by (E)-caryophyllene (26.0%), γ-muurolene (22.0%), and caryophyllene oxide (8.1%)

Competition and the Dynamics of Takeover Contests

This paper investigates the effect of potential competition on takeovers which we model as a bargaining game with alternating offers where calling an auction represents an outside option for each bidder at each stage of the game. The model describes a takeover process that is initiated by an unsolicited bidder, and it aims to answer three main questions: who wins the takeover and how? when? and how much is the takeover premium? Our results explain why the takeover premium resulting from a negotiated deal is not significantly different from that resulting from an auction, and why tender offers are rarely observed in reality. We also show that when the threat of the initial bidder to call a tender offer is not credible, the takeover process might end with a private auction organized by the target. Conversely, when the tender offer threat is credible, the takeover process ends with a deal negotiated bilaterally between the bidder and the target. The takeover premium always depends on the degree of potential competition, while it is affected by the target resistance only for weak initial bidders. Finally, the model allows us to draw conclusions on how other dimensions of the takeover process, such as termination fees, control benefits and tender offer costs, affect its dynamics and outcome

Size and Diversity in VC syndicates and their impact on IPO performance

This paper investigates the impact of venture capital (VC) syndicate size and composition on the IPO and post IPO performances of investee companies in an attempt to shed some light on the extent to which larger and more diverse syndicates are more likely to suffer from internal agency problems which might hinder the decision making process and lead to less value added for their portfolio companies. The question is of great relevance because, while the vast majority of the empirical literature compares VC backed IPOs with non VC backed ones, most VC funding is provided by syndicates of two or more financiers. We construct alternative measures of size as well as diversity based on several VC characteristics such as age, geographic location, type and affiliation of VC firms and find that larger and more diverse syndicates are associated with higher underpricing and lower valuation at the IPO date. Furthermore we provide evidence that that diversity and size are negatively correlated to the long term performance of the IPO firms and this finding is robust to several alternative measures of long term performance

White Knights and the Corporate Governance of Hostile Takeovers

We analyze the dynamics of takeover contests where hostile raiders compete against white knights involved by a lead blockholder of the target firm (the incumbent). We assume that the incumbent has the power to bargain with the potential bidders to set a minimum takeover price. We characterize the conditions under which a white knight wins the takeover contest despite the smaller value of its synergies as compared to those of the hostile bidder. The paper provides a new explanation for the reason why we observe so few hostile takeovers in reality; moreover, it sheds some light on the effectiveness of white knights as an anti-takeover device and the role played by leading minority blockholders in the market for corporate control. ∗We would like to thank Vasso Ioannidou, Maria Fabiana Penas and Paul Sengmueller for their useful comments, as well as the seminar participants at the University of Groningen and the University of Tilburg