SA国际传媒

Here at SA国际传媒 News, we generally write about private companies and wave goodbye soon after they鈥檝e exited to the public markets.

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I鈥檝e written before about how to go public and all the costs associated with the transition, so I thought I鈥檇 focus this column on two of the first major steps private companies need to pay attention to after hitting the public markets.

Being a public company includes a lot more regulatory headaches. And winning over investors doesn鈥檛 end after the IPO.

Capturing investors鈥� attention

A company鈥檚 most important task immediately after going public is to capture institutional investors鈥� attention, according to Jason Gold, CEO of , a firm specializing in investor relations.聽

When preparing for a traditional IPO, companies enlist banks to help arrange investor presentations as part of the IPO roadshow, though it’s with a more limited group of investors.聽

It鈥檚 not the same after the company is public, so companies have to focus on telling their story in a concise, understandable way, according to Gold.

鈥淥nce you鈥檙e out in public, there鈥檚 a perception by new management teams that, 鈥楬ey all of our information is public, people will do the work, we don鈥檛 have to explain things to them,鈥欌�� Gold said.

That鈥檚 not the case, he said. It鈥檚 a record year for the IPO market, and with so many companies going public, there鈥檚 more competition for investors鈥� attention. Oftentimes, especially for companies that go public with their founder as CEO, executives don鈥檛 realize how busy investors are and how many other stocks those investors are evaluating.

鈥淩eally, what you鈥檙e trying to do after you go public is generate interest so investors can dig in and do the work,鈥� Gold said.

Corporate leaders are often surprised by how frequently they have to tell their story, he said, and the first year as a public company is one of constant education and meeting with new investors. It could take 10 or 20 meetings to get one investor who takes a serious position, he added.

The nature of an IPO means that often all the investors that come in aren鈥檛 necessarily long-term, according to Victoria Sivrais, a partner at the investor relations firm Clermont Partners. So companies need to understand their current investor base and who they want in their shareholder base.聽

鈥淢anaging the very natural transition that happens is very important to not only maintain the floor of your current valuation but to drive your valuation long term,鈥� Sivrais said.

Crafting earnings materials

The next order of business after going public is crafting earnings materials in a way that addresses the key points of the company鈥檚 story. A newly public company鈥檚 first earnings report is its first 鈥渞eport card鈥� of how it鈥檚 progressing toward its story, per Gold.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the first opportunity for the Street to judge you on your execution,鈥� Sivrais said.

One of the biggest tasks a company has to tackle after its IPO is to get ready for its annual meeting, which is typically nine months after its public market debut, according to , president and COO of a firm that provides financial and tech services to brokers, banks, corporate issuers and investment advisers. A company鈥檚 annual meeting is required by the stock exchanges (the and ), and by the law.聽

Before the annual meetings, companies have to choose a proxy agent, work on their 10-K filing, and finalize what proposals it will put forth, among other things.聽

The annual meeting and proxy event is really visible, Moreland said, especially for corporate secretaries and general counsel.

鈥�(There鈥檚) lots of minutiae, but if they don鈥檛 do a good job of their annual meeting, it鈥檚 not going to be perceived well by the public,鈥� she said.

A company must file its paperwork 40 days before the event, post documents online, announce the meeting and conduct a broker search.

While the annual meeting is a big deal, issuers need to engage shareholders long before the meeting, Moreland said, which is why investor relations are so important.

鈥淵ou can approach it from a purely compliance point of view and you’ll be fine … but I think there’s a much better way to do it and that鈥檚 to really think of it as your opportunity of the year to reach out to and engage with your shareholders,鈥� Moreland said. 鈥淵ou never know when you might need their support and buy-in.鈥�

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