Public offer
In a public offer, your adviser offers your company’s shares to private and/or institutional investors and usually arranges for the offer to be underwritten. A public offer attracts private investors who are important in increasing the liquidity of a company’s shares. It is normally the most expensive route to market, often used by larger companies or those looking to raise substantial amounts of capital.
Placing
A placing usually involves offering your company’s shares to a selected base of institutional investors. This allows you to raise capital with lower costs and greater freedom and it gives your company more discretion to choose its investors. The result, however, is a narrower shareholder base and consequently there may be lower liquidity in the shares once your company has been admitted to the markets.
Introduction
In an introduction, the least expensive and easiest of the three methods, your company joins our markets without raising any capital. In general a company can do this if over 25% of its shares are already in public hands and there is a fair spread of shareholders. An introduction involves no underwriting fees and little requirement for advertising; the opportunities for boosting your company’s profile and visibility are, however, more limited.