IPO and Equity Offerings
This book goes behind the scenes to examine the process of an offering from the decision to go public to the procedures of a subsequent equity offering.
TABLE OF CONTENTS IPO and Equity Offerings
Chapter 7: UK Offerings
This chapter is the first of two describing the regulatory regimes and documentation requirements of the two largest international markets for IPOs. Chapter 8 will look at the USA. Within this chapter, we first look at the types of offering available to companies wishing to raise money in the UK. In the UK, IPOs are called flotations. We then discuss the main regulatory and documentary requirements.
The British market
The British stock market is the third largest in the world by market capitalization, and has been so for a number of decades. The Official List is the LSE's main market and home to corporate giants such as BPAmoco, GlaxoSmithKline and HSBC. It also hosts numerous much smaller companies such as Roxspur and World Trade Systems, with market capitalizations as of January 2003 of 640 000 and 260 000, respectively.
Issuers have a choice between the LSE's main market and the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), which was established in 1995, designed for smaller, more risky firms. The admission rules for companies joining AIM are less onerous than those for the LSE, and ongoing regulation is lighter. In addition, the OFEX (off exchange dealing facility), also established in 1995, exists to provide a trading facility for matched bargains. OFEX is run by JP Jenkins Ltd, a London stockbroker, and is generally (but not exclusively) for the smallest companies.
The London Stock Exchange has always been home to a large number of foreign companies, many from the Commonwealth countries, but also from the...
Copyright Ross Geddes 2003 under license agreement with Books24x7
