The Going Public Decision of Small- and Medium-Sized Firms

The aim of this chapter is to review the most relevant literature on the IPOs conducted by small and medium-sized firms with growth potential on those stock markets devoted to SMEs that major operators of regulated exchanges have created in EU countries following the example of the UK’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The chapter is also enriched by an empirical analysis of a sample of IPOs completed in the Italian EuroNext Growth Milan (EGM). The objective of the econometric analysis is twofold: (1) investigate the factors influencing the SMEs’ capability of raising new equity capital through their IPOs; (2) measure the value creation (in terms of market capitalization growth) realized by EGM-listed firms in the year following their IPOs.