Why Do Firms Become Widely Held? An Analysis of the ynamics of Corporate Ownership / Jean Helwege, Christo Pirinsky, René M. Stulz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Helwege, Jean.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Pirinsky, Christo.

Stulz, René M.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w11505.

NBER working paper series no. w11505

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2005.

Summary:

We consider IPO firms from 1970 to 2001 and examine the evolution of their insider ownership over time to understand better why and how U.S. firms that become widely held do so. In our sample, a majority of firms has insider ownership below 20% after ten years. We find that a firm's stock market performance and trading play an extremely important role in its insider ownership dynamics. Firms that experience large decreases in insider ownership and/or become widely held are firms with high valuations, good recent stock market performance, and liquid markets for their stocks. In contrast and surprisingly, variables suggested by agency theory have limited success in explaining the evolution of insider ownership.

Notes:

Print version record

August 2005.