When a privately held company goes public via an Initial Public Offering, it is one of the most significant milestones in the company’s entire history. Way it works is that the company issues share certificates to investors and gets listed on a chosen stock market. After the listing, the company’s shares can be traded on the market.
It is an extremely complicated process with a maze of regulatory and compliance requirements. But the benefits, in terms of finance, are just as high. A successful and well-subscribed IPO can instantly turn a small regional company into an international corporate heavyweight.
The biggest benefit of an IPO is obviously the massive infusion of capital for financing ongoing operations and planned expansion of the business. It improves the company’s liquidity position and helps reduce debt. There is also a big uptick in brand recognition and trust in the company’s products and services.
The way an IPO works is that the SEC needs the company to file a registration statement along with a prospectus detailing every aspect of the company and its business. The prospectus will also include the company’s post-IPO plans and how the company plans to utilize the funds.
Underwriters and the company’s accountants are required to work together to fulfill these regulatory requirements. They will provide the management with advice on shifting from a private decision making process to a public company answerable to the board and shareholders. The most important thing the underwriters do is help decide the price and number of shares that the market can absorb.
Once the IPO goes through, the company has certain new responsibilities. This includes making public the quarterly financial results, filing statements with the SEC for anything major that impacts the company and its operations, and the AGM. At the stockholders’ meeting, important issues are discussed and voted upon, including the composition of the Board and the top-level management. This is one reason why many companies hire new mangers after an IPO, to deal with issues specific to public companies.
How an IPO fares mostly depends on the company’s prospects and that of its sector. But IPOs fail all the time inspite of having sound basics and strong revenue models. There are many factors in play here, including the share pricing and quantity, the market and the timing of the IPO.
In Canada, for example, IPOs tend to be smaller than the ones in the US. They are also slightly under-priced because the market doesn’t have the same strong appetite for risk. European IPOs have to look at a lot more factors and have a smaller window, since problems in any EU member nation can affect markets in all the other nations.
Back before the dotcom dustup, any college kid with a website could file for an Initial Public Offering and rake in the big bucks. After the latest recession, things are now every different. Investors need a company with significant assets and long-term growth prospects. The regulatory requirements too are a lot tougher, but at the end of this long hard road there is a huge pot overflowing with shareholder funds.
In order to grow and expand, many companies will go through the IPO How process and make an Initial Public Offering (IPO) to the general public. A new IPO Prospectus valuation is usually made, and Canadian IPOs are becoming more common nowadays.
