The Short-Run Performance of IPOs of Privately Owned and Publicly Owned Firms: A Note from Australia

This article builds on an earlier study by Choi and Nam (1998) on the initial price performance of Public Sector Initial Public Offerings PIPOs in 30 countries. They report that, in general, PIPOs are more underpriced than private sector IPOs. Our study of the Australian market suggests the opposite is the case. The difference in the underpricing between their study and the evidence presented here is most likely due to the characteristics of Australian PIPOs. These characteristics include the tender process adopted, the extensive marketing employed and the dominant position of many of the issuers.