Choice of Selling Mechanism at the IPO: the Case of the French Second Market

This study examines the choice of flotation mechanism within the framework of the French Second Market. Between 1983 and 1996, a firm that opted for a quotation on the Second Market, had the choice between (i) an auction‐like procedure (there were two variants) and (ii) a fixed‐price introduction procedure. Several interesting results are presented. First, the choice for an auction‐like procedure appears to be positively related to firm valuation uncertainty at the IPO. Second, the likelihood of opting for an auction‐like procedure decreases as the reputation of the investment bank guiding the flotation increases. Third, the likelihood of opting for an auction is increasing in the number of secondary shares sold by venture capitalists and investment banks.