Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T04:29:55.118Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Negotiation and the IPO Offer Price: A Comparison of Integer vs. Non-Integer IPOs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

Daniel J. Bradley
Affiliation:
dbradle@clemson.edu, College of Business and Behavioral Science, 324B Sirrine Hall, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634;
John W. Cooney Jr
Affiliation:
jcooney@ba.ttu.edu, Rawls College of Business Administration, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409;
Bradford D. Jordan
Affiliation:
bjordan@uky.edu, Gatton College of Business and Economics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506;
Ajai K. Singh
Affiliation:
aks8@po.cwru.edu, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106.

Abstract

We investigate the pricing of 4,989 equity IPOs with offer dates between 1981 and 2000. Approximately three-fourths of these IPOs have integer offer prices. Average initial returns for IPOs with integer offer prices are significantly higher (24.5%) than those priced on the fraction of the dollar (8.1%). This result is robust through time and after conditioning for other effects known to influence initial returns. We hypothesize that integer vs. fractional dollar IPOs are the result of negotiations between the issuing firm and underwriter. Under this negotiation hypothesis, the frequency of integer pricing should be an increasing function of the offer price and the degree of uncertainty surrounding the value of the firm. Empirical evidence, supportive of the negotiation hypothesis, is presented.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © School of Business Administration, University of Washington 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barry, C.; Muscarella, C.; Peavy, J. III; and Vetsuypens, M.. “The Role of Venture Capital in the Creation of Public Companies: Evidence from the Going-Public Process.” Journal of Financial Economics, 27 (1990), 447471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benveniste, L., and Spindt, P.. “How Investment Bankers Determine the Offer Price and Allocation of New Issues.” Journal of Financial Economics, 24 (1989), 343361.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradley, D.; Cooney, J.; Dolvin, S.; and Jordan, B.. “Penny Stock IPOs.” Working Paper, Clemson Univ., Univ. of Kentucky, and Texas Tech Univ. (2003).Google Scholar
Bradley, D., and Jordan, B.. “Partial Adjustment to Public Information and IPO Underpricing.” Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 37 (2002), 595616.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carter, R.; Dark, F.; and Singh, A.. “Underwriter Reputation, Initial Returns, and the Long-run Performance of IPO Stocks.” Journal of Finance, 53 (1998), 285311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carter, R., and Manaster, S.. “Initial Public Offerings and Underwriter Reputation.” Journal of Finance, 45 (1990), 10451067.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chiang, K., and Harikumar, T.. “Information Production and IPO Offering Price Clusters: Further Evidence Explaining Underpricing and Long-Run Underperformance.” Working Paper, Univ. of Alaska-Fairbanks (2002).Google Scholar
Cooney, J.; Van Ness, B.; and Van Ness, R.. “Do Investors Prefer Even-eighth Prices? Evidence from NYSE Limit Orders.” Journal of Banking and Finance, 27 (2003), 719748.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corwin, S. “The Determinants of Underpricing for Seasoned Equity Offerings.” Journal of Finance, 58 (2003), 22492279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernando, C.; Krishnamurthy, S.; and Spindt, P.. “Who Cares about the Level of Share Prices? Evidence from Initial Public Offerings.” Working Paper, Univ. of Oklahoma, Binghamton Univ., and Tulane Univ. (2002).Google Scholar
Habib, M., and Ljungqvist, A.. “Underpricing and Entrepreneurial Wealth Losses in IPOs: Theory and Evidence.” Review of Financial Studies, 14 (2001), 433458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamao, Y.; Packer, F.; and Ritter, J.. “Institutional Affiliation and the Role of Venture Capital: Evidence from Initial Public Offerings in Japan.” Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 8 (2000), 529558.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hanley, K. “The Underpricing of Initial Public Offerings and the Partial Adjustment Phenomenon.” Journal of Financial Economics, 34 (1993), 231250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, L.Stock Price Clustering and Discreteness.” Review of Financial Studies, 4 (1991), 389415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ljungqvist, A., and Wilhelm, W.. “IPO Pricing in the Dot-com Bubble.” Journal of Finance, 58 (2003), 723752.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Loughran, T., and Ritter, J.. “Why has IPO Underpricing Increased over Time?” Working Paper, Univ. of Notre Dame and Univ. of Florida (2003).Google Scholar
Megginson, W., and Weiss, K.. “Venture Capitalist Certification in Initial Public Offerings.” Journal of Finance, 46 (1991), 879903.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mola, S., and Loughran, T.. “Discounting and Clustering in Seasoned Equity Offering Prices.” Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 39 (2004), 123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ritter, J., and Welch, I.. “A Review of IPO Activity, Pricing, and Allocations.” Journal of Finance, 57 (2002), 17951828.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smart, S., and Zutter, C.. “Control as a Motivation for Underpricing: A Comparison of Dual- and Single-class IPOs.” Journal of Financial Economics, 69 (2003), 85110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sopranzetti, B., and Datar, V.. “Price Clustering in Foreign Exchange Spot Markets.” Journal of Financial Markets, 5 (2002), 411417.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, H. “A Heteroskedasticity-Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and a Direct Test for Heteroskedasticity.” Econometrica, 48 (1980), 817838.CrossRefGoogle Scholar