Do Underwriters Certify Value? Evidence from UK Rights Issues and Open Offers

Eckbo and Masulis (1992) and Slovin, Sushka and Lai (2000) have proposed that underwriters of seasoned equity offers certify issuer value. The study tests predictions resulting from these papers and finds little evidence from UK rights issues and open offers that underwriting banks certify. The main purpose of underwriting appears to be simply to guarantee the proceeds. There is a positive reaction to open offers (a type of private placing) but this is unlikely to be due to underwriter certification. There is a large loss of value for companies announcing deeply discounted offers, which is attributed to release of bad news on announcement Copyright Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2002.