Going Public With Your Business: IPOs vs RTOs
Going public with your business is a big step. It can provide you with access to funds to grow and expand, and results in increased transparency and share listing credibility. When taking your business public, it is important to understand what your options are in order to make the best of your opportunities. One important decision to make is whether to take your business public through a more conventional IPO or through an RTO instead. Here at _____, we offer corporate lawyers to guide you through the process.
What is an IPO
An IPO, also known as an initial public offering, is the conventional process of offering shares of a private corporation to the public. It is the first time the stock of a private company is offered publicly and allows younger companies to easily do a capital raise. Private companies hire investment banks to issue shares of the entity; this involves regulatory paperwork as well as providing advice on initial pricing.
What is an RTO
Reverse Takeovers (RTOs) are also known as Reverse Mergers or Reverse IPOs. They are another way for companies to go public, an alternate method to IPOs. They are typically more cost and time effective compared to a traditional IPO and generally are used for early-stage investors to liquidate their stakes, as well as for capital raises.
In an RTO, investors in the private company buy a majority of the shares of an existing public shell company. This shell company is then combined with the purchasing company which then trades shares with the public shell in exchange for the shell’s stock. This transforms the private company into a public company.
Benefits of IPOs
IPOs are always a capital raising exercise, and thus can satisfy immediate financial needs.
An IPO creates a platform for easy access to future financings. This requires a steep initial cost, but a much lower cost later on.
Major shareholders may retain a better equity position in the listed stock due to increases in the shareholder base of the company, through private financings leading to the public offering.
IPOs offer a greater opportunity for reputational boosts due to their increased level of publicity.
Unlike RTOs, IPOs hold no risk of the business being tainted by negative associations or liabilities which may plague potential shell companies.
Benefits of RTOs
RTOs provide companies access to a method of going public that is significantly simpler, faster, and more cost-effective than IPOs.
This streamlined process also results in a much lower level of regulatory scrutiny, as RTOs rarely require the underwriting team necessary for access to public funds.
While IPOs are inherently risky, due to the unstable nature of the stock market or potential deals which may fall through, RTOs notably minimise this risk.
Since RTOs are purely a mechanism to convert a private company into a public one and do not aim to raise capital, they are markedly less dependent on market conditions.
How Can ________ Assist You?
Choosing the best way to take your company public can be complicated. At _____, we are determined to offer you the best corporate lawyers to make the decision easier.
If you would like further information or assistance on taking your business public and how you should go about doing so, please contact us directly. Our corporate lawyers within our Capital Markets team would be glad to help you.
Our Capital Markets team regularly advise in:
Initial Public Offerings (IPOs)
Reverse Takeovers (RTOs)
Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)
Security Token Offerings (STOs)
Initial and Ongoing Regulatory Compliance