![](https://www.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/shutterstock_321618683-e1632249430116.jpg)
The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), the anti-monopoly watchdog, has begun investigating if securities companies and underwriters are pricing shares fairly in initial public offerings, Nikkei has learned.
The move comes after the body noted that in many deals, the difference in offer prices before listing and opening share prices on debut have been larger than in Europe and the US.
As a result, the listing company raises a smaller amount of capital, but investors come away happy with what is known as a “first-day pop.” Underwriters are known to be partial to this practice in order to garner financial support from investors. However, from the JFTC point of view, the investigation could open the way for underwriters to increase pricing for startups and allow them to raise more funds, given that Japan lags behind the rest of the world in nurturing young tech companies.
JFTC sent a questionnaire to about 100 domestic companies to ask if they felt they were able to sufficiently negotiate with underwriters in setting offer prices for their shares and if they were satisfied with the process. JFTC will also interview underwriters if it felt it necessary.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Canadian Breadmakers Settle Price-Fixing Lawsuit
Jul 25, 2024 by
CPI
EssilorLuxottica Open to Meta as Shareholder, Says CEO Francesco Milleri
Jul 25, 2024 by
CPI
California Supreme Court Upholds Proposition 22, Securing Independent Contractor Status for Uber and Lyft Drivers
Jul 25, 2024 by
CPI
Paramount Global Investor Sues to Block Skydance Media Merger
Jul 25, 2024 by
CPI
Software Vendors Win Class Action Status in Antitrust Case Against CDK Global
Jul 25, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – International Trade & Antitrust
Jul 26, 2024 by
CPI
What is Wrong with the WTO Discipline on Subsidies?
Jul 26, 2024 by
CPI
The Abiding Tension Between Trade Remedy Law and Antitrust
Jul 26, 2024 by
CPI
Trade and Antitrust: An End to Isolationism
Jul 26, 2024 by
CPI
International Trade Law and Domestic Regulation of Generative Artificial Intelligence: Divergent Approaches?
Jul 26, 2024 by
CPI