Initial Public Offering – IPO

The height of a CEO’s career is when he takes his company to IPO (Initial Public Offering) and floats his company on the stock exchange. It is a high personal achievement to know that his hard work and energy has paid off and that other members of the investment fraternity can benefit in the purchase of his company’s’ shares.

Apart from a convenient way to raise money, an IPO can often be the culmination of many years of hard work. It may have been the objective of the company or project to “go public” from the outset, or it may be a current and more recent opportunity. It may also represent the start of the owners business exit strategy, heading toward retirement. Effectively, going public means that the business enters a new level of operations. It undoubtedly introduces new regulation to the company whereby executives may be forced to keep an eye on accounting ratios more often than perhaps they were used to. It also means that the business must be prepared properly in the run-up to an IPO.

Regardless of the size of the company, or the time it has been trading, it will be the case that a company needs to ‘spring-clean’ financially and tidy up any financial ‘loose ends’, often over-looked through familiarity by the management. Bringing in new and unknown investors means that all aspects of the business must be in good order and may mean a serious look at restructure before going toward an IPO to maximise the profitability of the sale.

“Sell off parts of the company; retain the cash-cows.”

In many circumstances, a company may be broken into separate companies or a group structure may be separated to allow for some companies in the group to be sold by IPO and where the private owners may decide to retain full ownership of other aspects of the business. This calls for professional planning and expert knowledge.

It is also essential that the existing owners of the business have planned for their own personal financial issues for when they receive money for their existing shares. Tax issues, tax residencies and retirement issues often come into the equation.

Working closely with our associate partner bankers in United Kingdom with associates in London, Singapore and New York, we can advise on all aspects of taking your business to IPO, or indeed planning the exit strategies of your business from the very outset.

Whether your business is ready for IPO or if you simply want to prepare its for sale; we can help you go public when you want to. Get in touch today.