xavGE
xavGE
xavGE
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
Why go public?<br />
1.1 Advantages of conducting an IPO<br />
J.P. Morgan (Investment Banking)<br />
When considering an initial public offering<br />
(IPO), a company should evaluate the<br />
associated pros and cons, as well as<br />
the motivations for going public. This<br />
evaluation process is best conducted in<br />
conjunction with an investment bank,<br />
which can assist the company in working<br />
through the salient issues. There are<br />
numerous advantages to going public, the<br />
most pertinent of which are detailed below.<br />
(a) Access to capital<br />
The most common reasons for going public<br />
are to raise primary capital to provide the<br />
company with working capital to fund<br />
organic growth, to repay debt or to fund<br />
acquisitions. Further direct results include<br />
the following:<br />
• Once the company is public, it has<br />
access to an entirely new, deep and<br />
liquid source of capital for any future<br />
needs it may have.<br />
• Being publicly traded adds equity<br />
to the company’s capital-raising<br />
toolkit, enabling the company to<br />
achieve and maintain an optimal<br />
capital structure.<br />
• Following the IPO, the company will<br />
be able to tap the equity markets via<br />
follow-on offerings of primary and/<br />
or secondary shares, or a mix thereof.<br />
After the company has been public for<br />
one year, it will be eligible to access the<br />
equity capital markets on demand via a<br />
shelf registration statement.<br />
(b) Liquidity event<br />
Listing on the NYSE has numerous<br />
benefits, not only for the company but<br />
also for its shareholders. The IPO can be<br />
structured such that existing owners of<br />
the company can sell down their position<br />
and receive proceeds for their shares. In<br />
addition, once the company is public, the<br />
existing owners have a public marketplace<br />
through which they can monetize their<br />
holdings in a straightforward and orderly<br />
fashion.<br />
(c) Branding event and prestige<br />
By listing on the NYSE, the company will<br />
receive worldwide media coverage through<br />
the financial markets, which provide<br />
constant live coverage on publicly traded<br />
companies. In addition, research analysts<br />
at broker-dealers will begin to write<br />
reports on the stock and the company, thus<br />
raising the profile of the company. Broader<br />
coverage across various sources will likely<br />
enhance the company’s visibility, increase<br />
its stature with actual and potential<br />
customers and suppliers and thus help<br />
it grow its market share and competitive<br />
position.<br />
(d) Public currency for acquisitions<br />
Once the company is public, it can use its<br />
publicly tradable common stock in whole<br />
or in part to acquire other public or private<br />
companies in conjunction with, or instead<br />
of, raising additional capital. Publicly<br />
tradable stock is clearly more attractive to<br />
target shareholders than illiquid private<br />
company stock.<br />
(e) Enhanced benefits for current<br />
employees<br />
Stock-based compensation incentives<br />
align employees’ interests with those<br />
of the company. By allowing employees<br />
to benefit alongside the company’s<br />
financial success, these programs increase<br />
productivity and loyalty to the company<br />
and serve as a key selling mechanism<br />
when attracting top talent. Furthermore,<br />
issuing equity-based compensation<br />
will allow the company to attract top<br />
talent without incurring additional<br />
cash expenses. Being a public company<br />
provides employees with the ability to<br />
monetize the value of their stock-based<br />
compensation, whether it is options or<br />
restricted stock.<br />
1.2 Potential issues<br />
J.P. Morgan (Investment Banking)<br />
While there are numerous advantages<br />
to going public, there are also a few<br />
considerations that the company, its<br />
management and shareholders should<br />
evaluate prior to embarking on the<br />
IPO process. The most successful<br />
companies with the smoothest IPO<br />
processes are those that fully weigh these<br />
considerations before embarking on an<br />
IPO and that begin making the necessary<br />
preparations months, if not years,<br />
beforehand.<br />
(a) Loss of privacy and flexibility<br />
In order to comply with securities laws,<br />
public companies must disclose various<br />
forms of potentially sensitive information<br />
publicly, which regulatory agencies, as well<br />
as competitors, can then access. Private<br />
companies can operate without disclosing<br />
proprietary information in a public forum.<br />
In addition, the focus of research analysts<br />
and the investor community on quarterly<br />
results and stock price performance<br />
may have the effect of constraining the<br />
operational flexibility enjoyed by the<br />
management of a private company.<br />
(b) Regulatory requirements and<br />
potential liability<br />
Correspondingly, public companies must<br />
regularly file various reports with the<br />
Securities and Exchange Commission<br />
(SEC) and other regulators. In order to<br />
comply with disclosure requirements,<br />
companies often need to completely<br />
revamp or expand their existing<br />
documentation policies, which can be<br />
costly and time-consuming. In addition,<br />
directors and officers are potentially<br />
liable for potential misstatements and<br />
omissions in the registration statement<br />
and in the company’s ongoing reporting<br />
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934<br />
(the Exchange Act).<br />
(c) Sarbanes-Oxley<br />
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed<br />
in 2002 as a reaction to a number of<br />
major corporate and accounting<br />
scandals, which cost investors billions<br />
of dollars and shook public confidence<br />
in the nation’s securities markets.<br />
SOX set new standards for public<br />
companies, including requirements<br />
relating to accounting, corporate<br />
governance, internal controls and<br />
enhanced financial disclosure. SOX<br />
compliance can be a time-consuming<br />
and costly process for a newly public<br />
company. Although the JOBS Act relieves<br />
emerging growth companies (EGCs) of<br />
the obligation to have their independent<br />
auditors provide an attestation on internal<br />
controls under Section 404(b), they are<br />
still required to put in place internal<br />
controls sufficient for management to<br />
provide the certifications required by<br />
Section 404(a).<br />
10 NYSE IPO Guide