IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/corfin/v79y2023ics0929119923000317.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Syndicate structure and IPO outcomes: The impact of underwriter roles and syndicate concentration

Author

Listed:
  • Dunbar, Craig G.
  • King, Michael R.

Abstract

We examine how the composition and concentration of the underwriting syndicate affects outcomes in U.S. initial public offerings (IPOs) from 2002 to 2020. Most IPOs now feature “phantom” lead managers who underwrite significantly fewer shares than the lead-left bookrunner. We hypothesize that the phantom lead is the result of bargaining between issuers wanting greater information production and lead-left bookrunners preferring greater control of the IPO. Larger, less concentrated IPO syndicates feature more absolute price adjustments from the filing price during bookbuilding with downward revisions on average, and more analyst following post-IPO. The magnitude of price adjustments is greater when adding active joint leads relative to passive phantom leads. More concentrated IPOs feature higher first-day returns following positive price adjustments. Adding lead managers reduces the likelihood the lead-left will retain that role in follow-on equity offerings.

Suggested Citation

  • Dunbar, Craig G. & King, Michael R., 2023. "Syndicate structure and IPO outcomes: The impact of underwriter roles and syndicate concentration," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:79:y:2023:i:c:s0929119923000317
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2023.102382
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929119923000317
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2023.102382?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alexander Ljungqvist & William J. Wilhelm, 2003. "IPO Pricing in the Dot‐com Bubble," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 58(2), pages 723-752, April.
    2. Goldstein, Michael A. & Irvine, Paul & Puckett, Andy, 2011. "Purchasing IPOs with Commissions," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(5), pages 1193-1225, October.
    3. Tim Jenkinson & Howard Jones, 2009. "IPO Pricing and Allocation: A Survey of the Views of Institutional Investors," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(4), pages 1477-1504, April.
    4. Mark Abrahamson & Tim Jenkinson & Howard Jones, 2011. "Why Don't U.S. Issuers Demand European Fees for IPOs?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(6), pages 2055-2082, December.
    5. Kathleen Weiss Hanley, 2010. "The Information Content of IPO Prospectuses," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 23(7), pages 2821-2864, July.
    6. Carter, Richard B & Manaster, Steven, 1990. "Initial Public Offerings and Underwriter Reputation," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 45(4), pages 1045-1067, September.
    7. Gentry, Matthew & Stroup, Caleb, 2019. "Entry and competition in takeover auctions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(2), pages 298-324.
    8. Fabrizio Adriani & Luca G. Deidda & Silvia Sonderegger, 2014. "How do Financial Intermediaries Create Value in Security Issues?," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 18(5), pages 1915-1951.
    9. William Wilhelm & Pegaret Pichler, 2001. "A Theory of the Syndicate: Form Follows Function," Economics Series Working Papers 2001-FE-05, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    10. Edelen, Roger M. & Kadlec, Gregory B., 2005. "Issuer surplus and the partial adjustment of IPO prices to public information," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2), pages 347-373, August.
    11. Roberts, Michael R. & Whited, Toni M., 2013. "Endogeneity in Empirical Corporate Finance1," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 493-572, Elsevier.
    12. Tim Loughran & Jay R. Ritter, 2002. "Why Don't Issuers Get Upset About Leaving Money on the Table in IPOs?," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 15(2), pages 413-444, March.
    13. Bruche, Max & Segura, Anatoli, 2017. "Debt maturity and the liquidity of secondary debt markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 599-613.
    14. Peter Cebon & Benjamin E. Hermalin, 2015. "When Less Is More: The Benefits of Limits on Executive Pay," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(6), pages 1667-1700.
    15. Cao, Jerry & Lerner, Josh, 2009. "The performance of reverse leveraged buyouts," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 139-157, February.
    16. Jonathan Reuter, 2006. "Are IPO Allocations for Sale? Evidence from Mutual Funds," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(5), pages 2289-2324, October.
    17. Liu, Xiaoding & Ritter, Jay R., 2011. "Local underwriter oligopolies and IPO underpricing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(3), pages 579-601.
    18. Daniel J. Bradley & Bradford D. Jordan & Jay R. Ritter, 2008. "Analyst Behavior Following IPOs: The 'Bubble Period' Evidence," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 21(1), pages 101-133, January.
    19. Benveniste, Lawrence M. & Busaba, Walid Y. & Wilhelm, William Jr., 2002. "Information Externalities and the Role of Underwriters in Primary Equity Markets," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 61-86, January.
    20. Shane A. Corwin & Paul Schultz, 2005. "The Role of IPO Underwriting Syndicates: Pricing, Information Production, and Underwriter Competition," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(1), pages 443-486, February.
    21. Alexander Ljungqvist & Felicia Marston & William J. Wilhelm, 2009. "Scaling the Hierarchy: How and Why Investment Banks Compete for Syndicate Co-management Appointments," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(10), pages 3977-4007, October.
    22. Inderst, Roman & Muller, Holger M., 2004. "The effect of capital market characteristics on the value of start-up firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 319-356, May.
    23. Aslan, Hadiye, 2020. "Shareholders versus stakeholders in investor activism: Value for whom?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    24. Ewens, Michael & Gorbenko, Alexander & Korteweg, Arthur, 2022. "Venture capital contracts," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(1), pages 131-158.
    25. Benveniste, Lawrence M. & Spindt, Paul A., 1989. "How investment bankers determine the offer price and allocation of new issues," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 343-361.
    26. Fabbri, Daniela & Klapper, Leora F., 2016. "Bargaining power and trade credit," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 66-80.
    27. Jean-Marie Meier & Henri Servaes, 2019. "The Bright Side of Fire Sales," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(11), pages 4228-4270.
    28. Colonnello, Stefano & Efing, Matthias & Zucchi, Francesca, 2019. "Shareholder bargaining power and the emergence of empty creditors," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(2), pages 297-317.
    29. Pegaret Pichler & William Wilhelm, 2001. "A Theory of the Syndicate: Form Follows Function," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(6), pages 2237-2264, December.
    30. Yoram Barzel, 2006. "Prevention Is Better than Cure: The Role of IPO Syndicates in Precluding Information Acquisition," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(6), pages 2911-2924, November.
    31. Sivan Frenkel & Itay Goldstein, 2020. "Dynamic Asset Sales with a Feedback Effect," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 33(2), pages 829-865.
    32. Jeon, Jin Q. & Lee, Cheolwoo & Nasser, Tareque & Via, M. Tony, 2015. "Multiple lead underwriter IPOs and firm visibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 128-149.
    33. Hsuan‐Chi Chen & Jay R. Ritter, 2000. "The Seven Percent Solution," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(3), pages 1105-1131, June.
    34. Katrina Ellis & Roni Michaely & Maureen O'Hara, 2000. "When the Underwriter Is the Market Maker: An Examination of Trading in the IPO Aftermarket," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(3), pages 1039-1074, June.
    35. Bradley, Daniel J. & Jordan, Bradford D., 2002. "Partial Adjustment to Public Information and IPO Underpricing," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 37(4), pages 595-616, December.
    36. Duygun, Meryem & Huang, Bihong & Qian, Xiaolin & Tam, Lewis H.K., 2018. "Corporate pension plans and investment choices: Bargaining or conforming?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 519-537.
    37. Vithanage, Kulunu & Neupane, Suman & Chung, Richard, 2016. "Multiple lead underwriting syndicate and IPO pricing," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 193-208.
    38. Michaely, Roni & Shaw, Wayne H, 1994. "The Pricing of Initial Public Offerings: Tests of Adverse-Selection and Signaling Theories," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 7(2), pages 279-319.
    39. Cooney, John W. & Madureira, Leonardo & Singh, Ajai K. & Yang, Ke, 2015. "Social ties and IPO outcomes," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 129-146.
    40. Chun Chang & Yao-Min Chiang & Yiming Qian & Jay R. Ritter, 2017. "Pre-market Trading and IPO Pricing," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(3), pages 835-865.
    41. Kao, Lanfeng & Chen, Anlin, 2020. "How a pre-IPO audit committee improves IPO pricing efficiency in an economy with little value uncertainty and information asymmetry," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    42. Tim Loughran & Jay Ritter, 2004. "Why Has IPO Underpricing Changed Over Time?," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 33(3), Fall.
    43. Cao, Jerry X., 2011. "IPO Timing, Buyout Sponsors’ Exit Strategies, and Firm Performance of RLBOs," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(4), pages 1001-1024, August.
    44. Steven Drucker & Manju Puri, 2005. "On the Benefits of Concurrent Lending and Underwriting," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(6), pages 2763-2799, December.
    45. Hasbrouck, Joel & Levich, Richard M., 2021. "Network structure and pricing in the FX market," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(2), pages 705-729.
    46. Baron, David P, 1982. "A Model of the Demand for Investment Banking Advising and Distribution Services for New Issues," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 37(4), pages 955-976, September.
    47. Brown, David T. & Fee, C. Edward & Thomas, Shawn E., 2009. "Financial leverage and bargaining power with suppliers: Evidence from leveraged buyouts," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 196-211, April.
    48. Agarwal, Sumit & He, Jia & Sing, Tien Foo & Song, Changcheng, 2019. "Do real estate agents have information advantages in housing markets?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(3), pages 715-735.
    49. João A C Santos & Andrew Winton, 2019. "Bank Capital, Borrower Power, and Loan Rates," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(11), pages 4501-4541.
    50. Lowry, Michelle & Schwert, G. William, 2004. "Is the IPO pricing process efficient?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 3-26, January.
    51. Pegaret Pichler & William Wilhelm, 2001. "A Theory of the Syndicate: Form Follows Function," OFRC Working Papers Series 2001fe05, Oxford Financial Research Centre.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chuluun, Tuugi, 2015. "The role of underwriter peer networks in IPOs," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 62-78.
    2. Boeh, Kevin K. & Dunbar, Craig, 2016. "Underwriter deal pipeline and the pricing of IPOs," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(2), pages 383-399.
    3. Jeon, Jin Q. & Lee, Cheolwoo & Nasser, Tareque & Via, M. Tony, 2015. "Multiple lead underwriter IPOs and firm visibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 128-149.
    4. Patrick M. Corrigan, 2022. "Does an initial public offering (IPO) issuer's Securities and Exchange Commission registration fee calculation method predict pricing revisions and IPO underpricing?," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(4), pages 1114-1147, December.
    5. Evgeny Lyandres & Fangjian Fu & Erica X. N. Li, 2018. "Do Underwriters Compete in IPO Pricing?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(2), pages 925-954, February.
    6. Jeon, Jin Q. & Ligon, James A., 2011. "The role of co-managers in reducing flotation costs: Evidence from seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 1041-1056, May.
    7. Jeon, Jin Q. & Lee, Cheolwoo, 2015. "A new measure for heated negotiation in the IPO syndicate," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 278-304.
    8. Chong, Beng Soon & Liu, Zhenbin, 2020. "Issuer IPO underpricing and Directed Share Program (DSP)," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 105-125.
    9. Vithanage, Kulunu & Neupane, Suman & Chung, Richard, 2016. "Multiple lead underwriting syndicate and IPO pricing," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 193-208.
    10. Moran, Pablo & Pandes, J. Ari, 2019. "Elite law firms in the IPO market," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 1-1.
    11. Liu, Xiaoding & Ritter, Jay R., 2011. "Local underwriter oligopolies and IPO underpricing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(3), pages 579-601.
    12. Crain, Nicholas & Parrino, Robert & Srinivasan, Raji, 2021. "Uncertainty, prospectus content, and the pricing of initial public offerings," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 160-182.
    13. Fernando, Chitru S. & Gatchev, Vladimir A. & May, Anthony D. & Megginson, William L., 2015. "Prestige without purpose? Reputation, differentiation, and pricing in U.S. equity underwriting," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 41-63.
    14. Riccardo Ferretti & Antonio Meles, 2010. "Underpricing, wealth loss for pre-existing shareholders and the cost of going public: the role of private equity backing in Italian IPOs," Venture Capital, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(1), pages 23-47, September.
    15. Cooney, John W. & Madureira, Leonardo & Singh, Ajai K. & Yang, Ke, 2015. "Social ties and IPO outcomes," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 129-146.
    16. Blomkvist, Magnus & Korkeamäki, Timo & Takalo, Tuomas, 2022. "Learning and staged equity financing," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    17. Gullapalli, Rachita & Knyazeva, Anzhela, 2020. "Foreign issuers in emerging growth company IPOs," Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    18. Agathee, Ushad Subadar & Sannassee, Raja Vinesh & Brooks, Chris, 2012. "The underpricing of IPOs on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 281-303.
    19. Tiziana La Rocca, 2021. "Do prestigious underwriters shape IPO pricing? A meta-analytic review," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 573-609, April.
    20. Grammenos, Costas Th. & Papapostolou, Nikos C., 2012. "US shipping initial public offerings: Do prospectus and market information matter?," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 276-295.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Initial public offerings; Underwriters; Syndicate structure; Price adjustment; First-day returns; Underwriting spread; Equity analysts; Seasoned equity offerings;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G24 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Investment Banking; Venture Capital; Brokerage
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • C22 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Time-Series Models; Dynamic Quantile Regressions; Dynamic Treatment Effect Models; Diffusion Processes

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:79:y:2023:i:c:s0929119923000317. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jcorpfin .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.