Canadian Real Estate Investment Trusts: A Review of the IPO Literature and Preliminary Analysis of Canadian REIT IPO Pricing

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Abstract

Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) of equity securities often exhibit underpricing; common stock values tend to rise significantly from the offer price on the first day of trading. The evidence for Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) IPOs is less consistent. Early studies found evidence of overpricing; a 1990s study found underpricing. Several theories as to why this underpricing might be a rational strategy for a firm are outlined in the paper along with a discussion of their likely applicability to REITs as an asset class. The author's preliminary study examines the IPOs of the 13 Canadian REITs listed on the TSE in mid-1998, and shows evidence of underpricing of IPO units …