Privatisation Initial Public Offerings: the Polish Experience

The Polish government has preferred gradual direct sales to privatisation initial public offerings (PIPOs) by a 2.8 to 1 margin. Evidence suggests that the government has attempted to manage the timing of PIPOs. We, however, find no evidence of underpricing of PIPOs to a greater degree than that found for issues in the private sector. Both domestic and international investors in PIPOs earned predominantly positive buy‐and‐hold returns up to 36 months after listing. The difference between PIPOs and private sector IPOs average returns is statistically significant only for international investors.