The Initial IPO Market Selection : An empirical study on firm-specific variables affecting the process and performance of IPOs listed on the Norwegian stock exchanges between 2007-2021

Abstract

This thesis studies the effects of firm-specific characteristics on initial marketplace choice and post-IPO performance for IPOs on the Norwegian stock exchanges from 2007 to 2021. From a tailored data set of 288 listings on Oslo Børs, Euronext Growth, and Euronext Expand, we confirm that firm-specific characteristics largely affect both marketplace choice and aftermarket performance. There is extensive research on post-IPO performance, but the actual choice of marketplace is a substantially less researched topic. The combination of these two topics seems to be a somewhat unplowed field. Hence, this thesis seeks to contribute to expanding the research around the IPO process with a main focus on the initial marketplace selection. We have formulated five hypotheses; three tackle the choice of marketplace in light of firmsspecific characteristics, and the latter two explore how the companies have performed considering these characteristics and their initial market selection. We have used several control variables in our regressions to enhance the analysis. The regression analysis shows that profitable firms prefer to list on the main market. PE/VCbacked firms do, however, not have a preferred marketplace to list on. The choice of marketplace does not affect long-run shareholder return. Nonetheless, PE/VC- backed firms have underperformed non-backed firms. We also find that the amount of capital raised affects the choice of marketplace.