IPO

Taking your business public can help secure investment for growth, manage succession and support an exit strategy to reap the rewards of the business you have built.

Taking your business public

IPOs can help to fund a rapidly growing business and create worldwide credentials, while also supporting succession or exit plans. The prospect of taking your business public is both exhilarating and daunting, and it is crucial to get it right the first time.

Listing your company can expose you to significant costs and a new scope of risks. It is also a time-consuming process which can take anywhere from three months to two years. Seeking professional guidance will help ensure a smooth IPO process, from reviewing historical financials, ensuring the accuracy of forecasts and preparing a prospectus to undertaking marketing, lodging a listing application and finally closing on an offer.

What is involved in the IPO process?

Disclosure and reporting requirements
Prior to listing, management time is required to bolster internal controls, board structures and corporate governance processes.

Costs and fees
Including underwriting or brokerage fees, accounting, legal and other professional fees, prospectus costs and ASX listing fees.

Susceptibility to market forces
Once listed, a company’s share price is susceptible to market forces outside of its control, irrespective of financial performance or balance sheet strength.

Reduced level of control
The sale of company shares inevitably involves ceding a degree of control to outside shareholders. Your company may be subject to takeover bids and activist investors.

Director responsibilities
Listed companies face additional responsibilities including greater disclosure of salaries, restrictions on share dealing, and more time and money invested on investor relations.

Escrow periods
ASX guidelines specifically target early investors and vendors who have been issued securities in exchange for assets or services provided and current directors. Typically, this period is 12 or 24 months.

How can we help?

Our team of highly experienced IPO specialists can assist with:

Historic audits, including review of financials to meet stock exchange admission requirements 
Review of accountant reports on historical, pro-forma historical and forecast financial information 
Due diligence of the entity undertaking IPO and companies being acquired as part of an IPO
IPO advisory services

List your company with confidence

Pitcher Partners brings a partner-led, highly experienced team to every IPO that we advise on, ensuring both business owners and incoming investors have the utmost confidence in knowing that all regulatory requirements have been met.

We provide commercial, pragmatic advice and a prudent approach to all financial analysis. While the output of an Independent Limited Assurance Report is a standard form letter with a clean opinion, there is an enormous amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure all regulatory requirements are met.