Access to Capital and the IPO Decision: An Analysis of US Private Firms

Andres Almazan, Nathan Swem, Sheridan Titman and Gregory Weitzner

No 35888, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We analyze firms’ IPO decisions using detailed financial data on US private firms. Firms with higher external capital needs are more likely to go public. Following the IPO, firms increase investment and debt issuance, leaving their leverage ratios un-changed from pre-IPO levels. Finally, newly public firms borrow from an expanded pool of lenders on improved terms, and the within-firm dispersion in banks’ private risk assessments declines. Our analysis suggests that firms go public to improve their access to capital, which is facilitated by reduced asymmetric information, and that the benefit extends beyond the IPO itself to new sources of debt.

JEL-codes: G21 G31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-10
Note: CF
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Working Paper: Access to Capital and the IPO Decision: An Analysis of US Private Firms (2025)
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