Dreikoenigstrasse, Zurich -- (SBWire) -- 01/28/2011 -- Dynamic Wealth Management is a market leader in Financial Services. Here is a guide to Initial Public Offerings (IPO’s) designed to take the jargon and fear out of the myth that IPO’s are higher risk than ordinary investments.
Taking a privately held company public is done via an IPO (Initial Public Offering). It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that an IPO is one of the important events in a company’s timeline. The company issues a specific number of share certificates at a stated price. Each shareholder then becomes part owner of the company, and each share can be bought or sold on the stock market where the company is listed.
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.
To begin with, a registration statement is filed with the SEC along with a prospectus for the IPO. This details everything an investor would like to know about the company and its future plans. This is where the underwriters come into the picture.
The underwriters will not only assist with the filing requirements, but also the change in the company’s structure. This means they assist in the transition from a private run enterprise to a public company with a board and stockholders. But their main job is to help decide the specifics of the IPO – the pricing, the number of shares and the market.
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.
The success of a public offering largely depends on the growth potential of the company and its sector, and whether or not the business has sound basics and a revenue model. But many IPO’s have failed inspite of having all this. It may be because they didn’t choose the right market or the right price, or chose the wrong time to go public.
As an example, consider Canada, where an IPO won’t be able to reach the size or price that an offering in the US markets can fetch.
The Canadian market has a significantly lower threshold for risk. In Europe, there are even more issues that need to be considered, like the economic conditions in each member state of the EU which affect every market in Europe.
Before 2001, when dotcoms were still in vogue, anyone with a website could file for an Initial Public Offering and watch the millions piling up as the markets kept going up. What investors want now is a safe company with lots of assets to its name and long term growth prospects. For any business that can traverse this long road to IPO success, there’s a huge reward waiting at the other end.
Dynamic Wealth Management is an independent investment advisory firm which focuses on global equities and options markets. Our analytical tools, screening techniques, rigorous research methods and committed staff provide solid information to help our clients make the best possible investment decisions. All views, comments, statements and opinions are of the authors. For more information go to http://www.dynamicwmanagement.com
Dynamic Wealth Management Initial Public Offering Basics for New Investors