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Hole in the Wall: Informed Short Selling Ahead of Private Placements

Author

Listed:
  • Henk Berkman
  • Michael D. McKenzie
  • Patrick Verwijmeren

Abstract

Companies planning a private placement typically gauge the interest of potential buyers before the offering is publicly announced. Regulators are concerned with this practice, called wall-crossing, as it might invite insider trading, especially when the potential investors are hedge funds. We examine privately placed common stock and convertible offerings and find evidence of widespread pre-announcement short selling. We show that pre-announcement short sellers are able to predict announcement day returns. The effects are especially strong when hedge funds are involved and when the number of buyers is high. We also observe pre-announcement trading in the options market.

Suggested Citation

  • Henk Berkman & Michael D. McKenzie & Patrick Verwijmeren, 2017. "Hole in the Wall: Informed Short Selling Ahead of Private Placements," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 21(3), pages 1047-1091.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:revfin:v:21:y:2017:i:3:p:1047-1091.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/rof/rfw036
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    2. Choi, Darwin & Getmansky, Mila & Tookes, Heather, 2009. "Convertible bond arbitrage, liquidity externalities, and stock prices," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(2), pages 227-251, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jing Lin & Steven X. Zheng & Mingshan Zhou, 2020. "Wealth transfer through private placements: Evidence from China," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 55(2), pages 199-219, May.
    2. Antonio Gargano & Juan Sotes-Paladino & Patrick Verwijmeren, 2022. "Out of Sync: Dispersed Short Selling and the Correction of Mispricing," Working Papers 108, Red Nacional de Investigadores en Economía (RedNIE).
    3. Berkman, Henk & Eugster, Marco, 2017. "Short on drugs: Short selling during the drug development process," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 102-123.
    4. Chague, Fernando Daniel & Bueno, Rodrigo de Losso da Silveira & Giovannetti, Bruno Cara, 2018. "The short-selling skill of institutions and individuals: a market-wide and out-of-sample analysis," Textos para discussão 469, FGV EESP - Escola de Economia de São Paulo, Fundação Getulio Vargas (Brazil).
    5. Greppmair, Stefan & Jank, Stephan & Smajlbegovic, Esad, 2023. "On the importance of fiscal space: Evidence from short sellers during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    6. Hackney, John & Henry, Tyler R. & Koski, Jennifer L., 2020. "Arbitrage vs. informed short selling: Evidence from convertible bond issuers," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    7. Onur Bayar & Yini Liu & Juan Mao, 2023. "Shareholder litigation and short selling ahead of private equity placements," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 58(4), pages 833-858, November.
    8. Nguyet Nguyen, 2022. "Informed Trading in Dark Pools: Fair-Access Dark Venue vs. Restricted-Access Dark Venues," Quarterly Journal of Finance (QJF), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 12(02), pages 1-37, June.
    9. Wu, Zekun & Borochin, Paul & Golec, Joseph, 2024. "Informed options trading before FDA drug advisory meetings," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    10. Au Yong, Hue Hwa & Brown, Christine & Ho, Choy Yeing (Chloe) & Shekhar, Chander, 2024. "Equity in capital raising? Empirical evidence from structured private placements," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    11. Xu Guo & Chunchi Wu, 2022. "Short Selling Activity and Effects on Financial Markets and Corporate Decisions," Springer Books, in: Cheng-Few Lee & Alice C. Lee (ed.), Encyclopedia of Finance, edition 0, chapter 98, pages 2313-2340, Springer.
    12. Andriosopoulos, Dimitris & Panetsidou, Styliani, 2021. "A global analysis of Private Investments in Public Equity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    13. Patel, Vinay & Putniņš, Tālis J. & Michayluk, David & Foley, Sean, 2020. "Price discovery in stock and options markets," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    14. Marle, Mats van & Verwijmeren, Patrick, 2017. "The long and the short of convertible arbitrage: An empirical examination of arbitrageurs’ holding periods," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 237-249.
    15. Hao, Jing & He, Feng & Liu-Chen, Baiao & Li, Zihe, 2021. "Price discovery and its determinants for the Chinese soybean options and futures markets," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Insider trading; Hedge funds; Private placements; Wall-crossing; Short selling;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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