IPO's are the final option for cash-starved corporates who have failed to raise capital elsewhere, concludes a study by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
Capital sources such as private equity, trades sales or venture capital all have to be exhausted before the IPO option is taken. The study also reveals that the costs of an offering invariably take up 10%-to-20% of the proceeds.
The survey of over 100 corporate treasurers to have undertaken IPO's also reports management upheaval, such as the creation of audit committees and the necessary adherence to corporate governance rulings. Investor demands also create challenges for management unaccustomed to such issues.
"In the light of recent declines in market capitalisations across the globe, governments and market regulators need to address the concerns found in this report, if new listed companies are going to replace those departing voluntarily or otherwise from the market," says Roger Davies, technical director of the ACCA.