I don't see how this hype game you describe would be characteristic of private sales more than of public offerings. It is the mechanism that drives all bubbles.

I don't see how this hype game you describe would be characteristic of private sales more than of public offerings. It is the mechanism that drives all bubbles. In fact root of the often criticized short termism of publicly traded companies is exactly this hype game - the company management paints the sock impressively to fuel the hype.