What do we know about delistings? A survey of the literature

Relative to the decision to go public, the decision to delist is less studied in the corporate finance literature despite its importance in the life of the firm. This article surveys the recent literature, both theoretical and empirical, regarding delisting in an international context (Anglo-Saxon countries and Continental Europe). We provide a review of the growing research on delisting based on the distinction between voluntary and involuntary delistings. For voluntary delistings, also called “Going Private Transactions” (GPTs), we analyze the incentives for firms to go private and the financial characteristics of these firms. Next, we focus on involuntary delistings: why do firms undergo a delisting (violation of stock exchange requirements, poor performance) and what strategies did the managers implement to attempt to avoid delisting? Finally, we are interested in the impact of corporate governance on delisting.