Title: The going public decision: evidence from the IPOs in Italy and in the UK

Authors: Stefano Paleari, Enrico Pellizzoni, Silvio Vismara

Addresses: Department of Economics and Technology Management, University of Bergamo, Viale Marconi, 5 – 24044 Dalmine (BG), Italy. ' Research and Development, Borsa Italiana SpA – Italian Exchange Piazza Affari, 6 – 20123 Milano (MI), Italy. ' Department of Economics and Technology Management, University of Bergamo, Viale Marconi, 5 – 24044 Dalmine (BG), Italy

Abstract: This paper offers insight into the question of why only few companies go public in Continental Europe. By comparing the Italian and the London Stock Exchange, we draw attention to some of the differences between the equity markets of continental Europe and those of the Anglo-Saxon countries. The main difference is that companies going public on the LSE usually use the capital raised to rebalance their capital structure, while companies going public in Italy use the IPO as a means to temporarily lower their debt exposure and then access to further debt on an improved bargaining position with banks.

Keywords: initial public offerings; IPOs; going public; operating performance; investments; leverage; Italy; UK; United Kingdom; Italian Stock Exchange; London Stock Exchange; equity markets; continental Europe; capital structure.

DOI: 10.1504/IJADS.2008.020321

International Journal of Applied Decision Sciences, 2008 Vol.1 No.2, pp.131 - 152

Published online: 16 Sep 2008 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article