Listing
As Oui Global has a global European presence and is not a broker itself, it is well positioned to select independently and impartially the broker, stock exchange and procedure (Introduction or IPO) best suited to meet the equity needs for the company.
In a first stage, the company will mandate Oui Global to contact brokers with a blind teaser that describes the best selling points of the company without revealing its name. At the end of this market sounding exercise, Oui Global will brief the company on brokers' interest, market feed-back, stock exchange requirements and general costs of the transaction, being an introduction or an IPO. If the company decides to progress, Oui Global will introduce the best broker to the company and be retained to produce the information memorandum, a document that contains the most comprehensive information on the company, delivered against signature of an NDA. Information contained in the teaser and the information memorandum will be used by the stock exchange and in road shows to attract investors, it represents maybe half of the work required for the listing process.
The comments below should also be taken into consideration for the listing:
- Local presence: if, for example, a Spanish company makes 90% of its sales on the Spanish market we would not recommend an international listing but a local listing on the Mercado Alternativo Bursatil: it is a Spanish company that should target the Spanish investors market. The same reasoning applies to companies which activity is primarily local.
- International presence: on the other hand, if a growing company is already operating successfully in various international markets, then Paris or London could be interesting alternatives, providing the opportunity of an international valuation. The management of this type of company should already be familiar with some international exposure, they will also be prepared to conform with the disclosure and management requirements of an international stock exchange (separation of the roles of CEO, CFO and chairman, regular reporting requirements to the stock exchange etc).. Oui Global and the broker will then prepare the management on how to present the company to international investors.
- Introduction before IPO: when equity markets improve, most SMEs without previous experience of stock markets tend to consider a rushed IPO. This process, sometimes encouraged by brokers and lawyers, can be expensive in terms of legal and accountancy bills and result in a much lower valuation than expected: by the time the whole administrative process is completed (at least 3 months), market sentiment towards equity will probably have switched back to a less optimistic mood, reducing the price at which investors are prepared to invest in the company. In order to avoid this situation, Oui Global would recommend to approach the public markets with a) first an introduction, that is when the company becomes a Public limited company (Plc) but does not raise money b) then an IPO, to be considered only when the company has become familiar with the rules and requirements of the stock exchange and has had various opportunities to make itself known to the investors community. Timely preparation is a key component to a successful IPO. Also, separating the introduction and the IPO in two distinctive phases makes the listing process much easier to handle by the management of the company.
Oui Global looks forward to assisting you in the potential listing of your company through efficient, discreet and impartial advice.