Archived IPO

Wednesday, 14 December 2011

‘Mark Zuckerberg should unfriend Wall Street’ æ

Francesco Guerrera, for the Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Zuckerberg’s has two options: a traditional IPO, in which banks distribute shares to investors in exchange for a percentage of total proceeds; and the little-used “Dutch auction” that cuts out the Wall Street middlemen by making the allocation of shares dependent on prices bid by each investor.

The biggest difference between the two systems, apart from the lower fees paid by companies in auctions, is that when IPOs go Dutch, banks don’t choose who gets shares, giving all investors a fair shake and avoiding potential conflicts of interests.

Google went Dutch. It didn’t go well for them, supposedly due to a deteriorating market, a poor “roadshow” and a Playboy interview. Facebook may face similar problems given the global economy and various privacy issues and lawsuits. But wouldn’t it be appropriately symbolic if Facebook had a successful IPO without the Wall Street middlemen?

Monday, 5 December 2011

Facebook Targeting IPO æ

Shayndi Raice, for the Wall Street Journal:

Bankers are aggressively pursuing the company, but Facebook remains elusive about a commitment to specific banks, even though an IPO looms. Mr. Ebersman told some bankers that he is skeptical over what contribution investment banks could make to a Facebook IPO, since the company is so highly sought after by major investors, said people familiar with the matter.

Indeed, what contributions could they make? Do investment banks provide an increasingly fungible service?

Sunday, 4 December 2011

Startups Goldman Sachs Thinks Will Most Likely IPO æ

Alexia Tsotsis, for TechCrunch:

So why hold a conference for early stage companies if you’re an IPO underwriter? Well, the event basically functions as an extremely foresighted form of lead generation. According to multiple people I spoke to, these are the 30 or so startups Goldman has designated as potential IPO candidates. And it wants to make a relationship as early on as possible, in case some of them actually do and need Goldman’s services in the process. Makes sense.

A get-them-while-they’re-young strategy.

Tuesday, 22 November 2011

Going against the grain æ

蕭世和:

香港近年積極拉攏品牌企業來港上市，品牌企業也看準能賣得好價錢，集資拓展龐大的中國市場，但對於這個策略，集團另有看法。Giorgio Armani創立以來，不斷發展，一直保持私人公司，皆因可以保持最靈活的投資彈性，集團過去經常趁低潮擴展，成為領先對手的重要策略，這點是上市公司很難享有的優勢。公司上了市，必須對公眾負責，最難應付是需索不斷的專業基金投資者，難怪作為潮流領導者的Armani，堅持不會加入上市熱潮中。

Think different.

IPOs Are Not the Answer æ

Matt Alexander:

The current crop of IPOs are raising more concerns than they are generating any enthusiasm. Groupon’s IPO, for instance, is considered resounding evidence of a technology bubble, but that is really not the case. If IPOs were judged on a higher scale, as Breyer suggests, confidence might return more readily to an already shaky market.

IPOs are the bread and butter of investment banks. With so much money at stake, it’s unlikely that standards will be raised; at least not until the bubble bursts.

Saturday, 5 November 2011

The Groupon Groove æ

Nicholas Thompson, for The New Yorker:

Groupon went public this morning. And naturally, the stock price surged. Goldman and the other underwriters made sure that would happen. They know the demand for the stock, and they control the supply. They want the price to rise so their clients can cash in. Groupon, meanwhile, gets good press for the price pop, so they’re willing to go along.

Wouldn’t that apply to almost all IPOs? Only time will tell whether the Grouponzi scheme will work out.