Initial public offerings (IPOs) underpricing is a widely researched area in finance literature. Yet, empirical evidence demonstrating and theoretical models explaining differences in underpricing across countries have remained an enigma in academia for a long time. This thesis consists of three independently interconnected essays that explain differences in underpricing observed across the Group of Twenty (G20) IPO markets.

This thesis is divided into six chapters. The current chapter has introduced the thesis. Chapter 2 discusses the background of the institutional features of the Indian IPO market, including the grey market. Chapter 3 (Study 1) introduces an integrated conceptual framework of information sharing, with and without allocation discretion to underwriters. Chapter 4 (Study 2) applies signaling theory in the Indian IPO market setting to understand the effect of the information asymmetry between IPO investors. The objective of Chapter 5 (Study 3) is an examination of the determinants of underwriter syndication and the motivation of underwriters in the Indian IPO market to form IPO syndicates. The conclusions, limitations and suggestions for future research are examined in Chapter 6.