The owners’ perspective in initial public offerings: a theoretical review and empirical analysis of the Italian Stock Exchange

The decision to list on a stock market is crucial for every company: it affects the firm itself, the initial owners of the entity, the new investors acquiring a stake, the involved parties in the transaction and many more. This willingness can arise from different needs: raising fresh capital to fund investment projects or planning an exit strategy for the pre-existing shareholders, with all possible combinations in between. While extensive academic research has been devoted to IPO waves, short-run underpricing, long-run underperformance and many other similar aspects, there has been less attention paid to the owners' perspective.