When a seller has information that could help bidders to estimate asset value, a dictum of auction theory has been that all such information should be publicly announced to bidders. The possibility of privately revealing this information to one or more bidders is introduced. Seller in some circumstances may attain higher expected revenue through revealing his information privately. Examples show that the role of private revelation is more complex than simply generating bidder asymmetry. r
Maresa & Harstad REF discussed the probability that vendee reveal the information to one or more tenderers in private.
Private information revelation in common-value auctions
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