Why do new, publicly-traded drug firms stop selling their stock?

Dr. David Williams' work on initial public offerings (IPOs) has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Business Research.

David Williams

Dr. Williams’s work combines human capital theory with work on IPOs related to sources of financial capital of recent, publicly traded biopharmaceutical firms and relates this to the de-listing of these firms (removal from stock exchange listings).  The results show that to a limited extent firms having CEOs with more or better human capital and strategic alliance partners are associated with biopharmaceutical IPOs’ de-listing.  The study further finds that de-listing in this industry is due primarily to acquisitions (and not financial distress) and that the findings differ based upon whether examining financial distress or acquisition de-listings. Three key findings are: (1) IPOs with CEOs who are founders of the firm are more likely to be acquired than de-list due to financial reasons; (2) IPOs with CEOs with prior biopharmaceutical experience are less likely to de-list due to financial reasons; and (3) having other biopharmaceutical firms as owners makes the IPO less likely to de-list due to financial reasons.  The study draws upon the IPO motivation literature to help explain the results.

The paper can be found on Science Direct.

Stock Market Board
Published: Jan 31, 2013 6:10am

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