Basics of Private and Public:: It Is Also Referred To As "Public Offering"
Basics of Private and Public:: It Is Also Referred To As "Public Offering"
Basics of Private and Public:: It Is Also Referred To As "Public Offering"
form of ordinary stock or shares. It is defined as the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. They are
generally offered by new and medium-sized firms that are looking for funds to grow and expand their business.
A privately held company has fewer shareholders and its owners don’t have to disclose much information about the
company. Most small businesses are privately held, with no exceptions that large companies can be private too,
like Domino’s Pizza and Hallmark Cards being privately held. Shares of private companies can be reached through
the owners only and that also at their discretion. On the other hand, public companies have sold at least a portion of
their business to the public and thereby trade on an a stock exchange. This is why doing an IPO is referred to going
public.
Why go public?
The main reason for going public is to raise the good amount of cash through the various financial avenues that are
offered. Besides, the other factors include:
Public companies usually get better rates when they issue debt due to increased scrutiny.
As long as there is market demand, a public company can always issue more stock.
Being Public makes it possible to implement things like employee stock ownership plans, which help to
attract top talent of the industry.
Whether the firm has entered into a collaboration with the technological firm
The deal could be a firm commitment where the underwriter guarantees that a certain amount will be raised by
buying the entire offer and then reselling to the public, or best efforts agreement, where the underwriter sells
securities for the company but doesn’t guarantee the amount raised. Also to off shoulder the risk in the offering, there
is a syndicate of underwriters that is formed led by one and the others in the syndicate sell a part of the issue.
RED HERRING:
During the cooling off period, the underwriter puts together there herring. This is an initial prospectus that contains all
the information about the company except for the offer price and the effective date. With the red herring in hand, the
underwriter and company attempt to hype and build up interest for the issue. With the red herring, efforts are made
where the big institutional investors are targeted (also called the dog and pony show).
As the effective date approaches, the underwriter and the company decide on the price of the issue. This depends on
the company, the success of the various promotional activities and most importantly the current market conditions.
The crux is to get the maximum in the interest of both parties.
Finally, the securities are sold on the stock market and the money is collected from investors.