Merger-Driven Listing Dynamics

We measure the degree to which stock exchanges around the world attract and retain firms under public ownership by adjusting actual listing counts for targets of public acquirers. In the U.S., where these targets exceed the number of IPOs, our merger-adjustment eliminates both the dramatic (50%) post-1996 listing decline, and the relative international listing gap reported elsewhere. We also show that listing peaks followed by rapid declines are surprisingly common internationally. However, while the post-peak decline in the U.S. primarily reflects mergers between public firms, declines elsewhere to a greater extent reflect de facto stock-exchange exits.

Keywords: M&A, merger, public listing, listing peak, listing gap

JEL Classification: G15, G34

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Eckbo, B. Espen and Lithell, Markus, Merger-Driven Listing Dynamics (January 20, 2022). Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, Research Paper Series, No. 354758, European Corporate Governance Institute – Finance Working Paper No. 752/2021, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3547581 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3547581