Private Equity

Portfolio companies do not stay portfolio companies forever – typically they either are sold or go public. Most sponsors will exit their investment through a sale to a strategic buyer or another PE firm. However, markets go up and down, and there may be periods in which it is more advantageous to complete an IPO rather than an M&A deal. These market “windows” do not stay open forever, so it is incumbent upon portfolio company management to be ready in the event their PE sponsor decides to pursue an IPO. In addition, many portfolio companies pursue both an IPO and a strategic sale at the same time to create price tension on the overall exit transaction. To maximize the leverage afforded by this “dual track” process, the portfolio company needs to be ready to actually consummate an IPO if it is determined that the IPO route will capture the most value. With this in mind, this alert discusses some things that every portfolio company can do now as a private company to keep the IPO option open and avoid significant delays in the IPO process.

View the alert.