The Long-Run Return to Investors in Share Issue Privatizations

We examine the long-run returns earned by domestic, international, and US investors who purchase shares at the first open-market price in 158 share issue privatizations (SIPs) from 33 countries during the period 1981-1997. We compute one-, three-, and five-year net returns for domestic, international, and US market indexes, and industry-matched comparison samples. We find statistically significant positive net returns for the 158 unseasoned SIPs for all holding periods and compared with all benchmarks. Our findings contrast with the patterns reported in previous research for equity offerings of private firms in the US and other countries.