ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the main characteristics of IPO samples. It first describes the time pattern of IPO debuts and the distribution of IPOs between VC-backed and non-VC-backed IPOs group, then presents the number of IPOs for each month on KOSDAQ from April 1999 to September 2001 and shows how the monthly trend of IPOs is related to the KOSDAQ and KSE index. Then the chapter describes the industrial distribution of IPOs and the industrial pattern of VC-backed and non-VC-backed IPOs. In later sections, the author presents summary data on the characteristics of IPOs, distinguished by again between VC and non-VC backed IPOs, covering firm age, market capitalisation, book-to-market ratio, gross proceeds, underwriting costs, age of CEO and number of employees. The author accounts for the ownership structure of IPO samples: how many shares are on average held by CEO, CEO’s family, board of directors, venture capitalists, corporate venturing institutions, banks and security companies. Moreover, the author sets out the financing patterns of IPO firms: funding from banks, financial institutions, and capital markets and presents the figures of financial statements. The author briefly compares the characteristics of KOSDAQ IPO firms with that of other main countries’ data.
