The recent publicity surrounding Facebook’s IPO – information leaks, underwriter control, and post-IPO trading, highlight some of the downsides of a traditional underwritten IPO. The fallout – many lawsuits have been filed already, naming the company, its officers and directors, the underwriters, and even NASDAQ as defendants – will be long and expensive.
If you are reading this blog, you are probably engaged in or around, or investigating, alternative IPO’s. The term encompasses a wide variety of alternatives to the traditional underwritten IPO, including a reverse merger, or the oft-recommended direct IPO. We have an entire page on our website devoted to private-to-public transactions, which can be found here.
Craig V. Butler wrote an article comparing the direct IPO and reverse merger, which can be found here. We have an article with tips for a management-underwritten IPO, which can be found here.
This is a good time to revisit the benefits of an alternative IPO, and whether one is right for you.
