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Dividend Signaling: Evidence from Bank IPOs

Post-IPO banks are far more likely to initiate dividends than nonfinancial firms. Moreover, dividend initiation has a major impact on the ultimate disposition of a newly public bank, increasing its likelihood of subsequent acquisition by around 40 percent and reducing the expected time until acquisition by 92 percent. Further, conditional on being acquired, dividend initiation significantly increases the takeover premium. Average premiums for post-IPO dividend initiators exceed those on non-dividend payers by about 50 percent of the market value of the bank in the month prior to the takeover announcement. Positive associations between bank performance and dividend initiation and between dividend initiation and both takeover likelihood and premium appear consistent with a signaling role for dividends. Dividend initiation seems to speed up and amplify the rewards to owners that may be reaped through an ultimate sale of the institution.