Underwriter
In today’s marketplace it is very difficult for a small to medium sized company to attract an underwriter. By this I mean if you are raising under $100 million for an IPO. There is a reason that the average IPO over the last four years raised an average of $200 million. Since [...]

read more from this topic.....

What Will It Cost?
How much will an IPO cost your company? Out of pockets expenses can run as high as $2.5 million. Remember this money is spent regardless of the outcome of your public offering. If your underwriter cancels your deal or the marketplace does not want to buy your shares you [...]

read more from this topic.....

Key Players

Other than the CFO position, that we have already mentioned in my previous blog posting, there are several other key players that you will need to accomplish your goal of going public. The first thing you need is a good investment banker. He can explain, in detail, the entire transaction from beginning to end. [...]

read more from this topic.....

Are You Properly Staffed?
Does your company have a solid infrastructure of qualified personnel? Specifically, does your company have the personnel who can handle the application process as well as the reporting and regulatory requirements of a publicly held company? There are many very profitable small businesses that are still run as mom and pop operations [...]

read more from this topic.....

Your Personality
Some people are extremely private and are not very keen on sharing information on themselves or their business. So if this describes you as a business person, then going public is not for you. When you bring your company public, the world knows your business. Every detail of your personal life will be exposed [...]

read more from this topic.....

Few entrepreneurs understand the complexities of going public. Most entrepreneurs have an idea of what to expect but most are clueless when it comes to examining the possible downside of the transaction. There are many things to consider when you decide to take your company public. I will attempt over the next seven Blogs to [...]

read more from this topic.....

A new federal advisory committee, headed by MFS chairman Robert Pozen, has one year to make recommendations to the SEC.
Sarah Johnson, CFO.com
June 27, 2007
The Securities and Exchange Commission has established a committee to figure out how to take complexity out of financial reporting. Headed by Robert Pozen, chairman of MFS Investment Management, the group will [...]

read more from this topic.....

Recently, my company, Ventana Capital Partners, has been involved with two companies that are seeking to go public through a reverse shell merger to implement a roll-up strategy of their respective industries.  Both of these industries are definitely not “flourishing” and in both cases the industries are staged for a full scale consolidation where only [...]

read more from this topic.....

What is a Roll-Up
A roll up is the consolidation of several small businesses under one roof, usually through a publicly held holding company. The concept works extremely well with mom and pop business owners. The roll-up strategy can be very successful if you have capable management steering the ship and an industry where the [...]

read more from this topic.....

Conditions for Closing on the Shell
I have listed some of the requirements necessary when closing on a Reverse Shell Merger.

Sufficient information to complete and file the required 8-K with the SEC.
Management information, including completion of the “Officer and Director Questionnaire,” for all Officers and Directors of the private company merging into the shell.
Buyer and Seller [...]

read more from this topic.....