Taking A Company Public, Reverse Mergers That Work and Solid Corporate Structures | The Communication Blog

Friday, December 24, 2010

Taking A Company Public, Reverse Mergers That Work and Solid Corporate Structures

By James Scott


There is a large division between a public company that is exists and thrives. An company that is merely existing has a stock price that is is stabilized by constant promotion and fund raising with every bell and whistle, warrant and promotional gimmick as the company's business model is not conducive to inner and outer expansion, globalization or general scalability.

The public company that thrives will have an IPO that is both promotional and informative and will show a clear cut and active plan for growth via acquisitions, mergers and both domestic and international alliances. Public companies that thrive will have a team of consultants making introductions, setting up round table meet and greets to introduce and build rapport with funding players and potential partners where there is a strong synergy. The share price for the 'thriving' company will be triggered naturally by press releases in combination with promotion to investors by updating current and potential shareholders of these benchmark achievements.

Another massive element that is all together ignored 99% of the companies out there, even thriving public and private entities is the almighty legislative tie-in. Get to know your congressman, senator and all their affiliated groups. Become a permanent fixture at their fundraising events and look for angles that would help create a win/win situation for your political counterpart when his activity wanders into your particular business genre. Offer to consult with them to help them navigate the tepid waters of your industry without making the amateur mistakes of those not completely submerged in the industry. Be their industry expert, adviser then publicize your efforts in a way that helps both you and your political alliance.

Globally there are, maybe four or five consulting firms that specialize in the above. A full service, turn-key solution facilitating merger and acquisition identification and facilitation, all aspects and angles of investor relations, globalization and alliance identification and facilitation, professional executive placement into your organization, powerful board of director facilitation and more.

Though the above may sound like the consultants lack focus, to the contrary they are extremely focused and are well versed in walking into an organization and mapping the structure. What are the weak points and what are the strong points? And then they put together a strategy to build the structure that will gain rapid traction that will stick with expansion and funding benchmarks that are realistic, scalable and achievable. Taking a company public in today's economic environment is fickle and impossible for the untested to succeed. Find a consultant to put together a team that will launch or maintain your corporate stabilization and expansion strategy properly.

On the flip side, if you're an investor, what do you look for in a company before investing?

Investing in an IPO traditionally offers higher yields and a Pre IPO can offer 200%+ returns if the structure is solid. By structure I am referring to founders, C Level executives, board of directors, compliance legal team, pipeline contracts, overall profitability and dilution in the float (just to name a few items). Finding the right transaction takes more than just some advice from your broker, though their efforts may be pure in intent, they are, for the most part, unqualified to advise on such investment actions.

Unless your investment advisor is a strategies and structuring consultant with a ton of experience in globalization, they may be licensed to sell you securities but they are not qualified to strip an opportunity to the bone and reconstruct it looking for errors or chinks in the armor to justify a solid transaction or a pump and dump pipe dream.

Most brokers make a tremendous effort to evolve out of the burnout genre of pitching and selling stock and more toward mergers and acquisitions where the real money is. Part of M & A is merging private companies into public entities, restructuring the company, stock and management and then turning out the entity with a new symbol and price and pounding the pavement with multiple genres of IR simultaneously. Selling shareholders who invested in the Pre IPO phase of the company will create the float and make the quickest returns with minimal risk as they will typically buy their shares at a deep discount to the retail price. Next, with a controlled incline of the stock price the investors who buy at the road show outings will make nice chunks of change and may receive some type of warrants.

Using online mechanisms for stock promotion such as social media, webinars, opt in email, banners and other white hat processes will assist with daily volume. Phone room buzz generation materialized by phone rooms calling around and introducing the company and it's stock symbol to investors and market makers allows for eyes to be focused on the company and in return will result in both short term and long term investors. Then you have the road show which are also referred to as 'round table' meetings. I'm not talking about the free suppers in Manhattan for free loaders and wannabe's; I mean a targeted audience of 15 to 20 tops, investors who are ready to listen, ask questions and buy.

If you are considering investing in a Pre IPO, make sure that the company has a clear cut plan for all the above promotion. If the company structure is sound and the promotional element is there, chances are it's a safe bet for the short term. Legislative contacts, globalization, board member alliance facilitation and a professional C level staff will be the critical factor to take the company toward long term success. Before making an investment of any kind consult a licensed professional.




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