Sky Blog
In a new paper, we examine the differences between private and public firms to see whether one outshines the other when it comes to investment efficiency. Our analysis begins with three theories.
The Agency Theory: Although going public offers …
Good morning and thank you, [Columbia Law School] Dean [Gillian] Lester, for the introduction. I am honored to speak to this distinguished group of academics, practitioners, and regulators at today’s “Going Public in the 2020s” conference. My remarks reflect solely
Traditionally, high-growth private firms in the United States have used the public equity markets as their primary source of external financing to fund innovation and expansion. For this reason, well-functioning capital markets have been instrumental to the U.S. economy, supporting …
On September 2, 2021, Singapore Exchange (SGX) released the “Proposed Listing Framework for Special Purpose Acquisition Companies” that officially permits the public listing of SPACs on its mainboard. The move aims to cement Singapore’s status as Asia’s top …
The determinants of when and why private companies decide to go public through an initial public offering (IPO) is an important question with many policy implications. Anecdotally, one reason why firms decide to do an IPO is as a response …
The number of private firms going public in the U.S. has declined significantly since 2000. A related phenomenon is that most private firms that “exit” (change ownership structures to allow early equity investors such as entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to …
Fifty years ago this year, Milton Friedman, later to be a Nobel laureate in economics, famously argued that corporate governance should focus solely on shareholder value maximization, while conforming to applicable laws and regulations. That view was controversial then. After …
How do disclosure requirements influence a private firm’s decision to go public? This is an important question for regulators and corporate finance professionals, given current debate about how much information private firms should have to disclose. Conceptually, public disclosure requirements …
Benefit corporations are a new legal form of business association created to support social enterprises. Over half of U.S. states have adopted a benefit corporation statute, and over 2,000 companies have chosen the form. So far, almost all of these …