IPO journey | euronext.com

The key steps in a stock market listing explained, from preparation to IPO results.

IPO timeline

The IPO process is best understood through two simultaneous timelines: marketing and documentation.

Structuring the deal & preparing regulatory documents

The first step to any IPO project is to meet with potential IPO advisors to create a working group that will support the project and follow the company on the market after its listing.

Read: Select your IPO advisors

1/Appointments of advisors

Your advisors will discuss the details of the listing process formally with the board of directors, give initial views of market potential and issue administrative documents. They will also support you in defining your business plan with clear objectives. Together you will decide on the mix of fresh capital and existing shares to be placed on the market.

2/Kick-off meeting and prospectus drafting

The kick-off meeting brings advisors together to define their roles and responsibilities. Key metrics, including the projected timetable, are introduced during this session. Initial workshops for drafting the prospectus follow.

The prospectus is a formal legal document in two major parts. It enables to build a bridge between private and public information. The first part discloses core information about the company: business and risk factors, financial information, management and corporate governance. The second part is related to the offer: risks related to the offer, information related to securities offered and conditions of the offer.

3/Due diligence

Due diligence sessions ensure that all information about the company is appropriately disclosed in the offering prospectus for future investors. Throughout the IPO process, additional due diligence sessions may be planned at each key milestone. At this stage, the deal remains completely confidential.

4/Regulatory review

The financial regulator conducts a thorough review to ensure that the prospectus contains the information investors need to decide whether to take part in the offering. Once the regulator and Euronext grant final approval, A company press release and a Euronext market notice announce the offering’s timing and details to the market. This kicks off the marketing/investor phase.

Financial communication

While the prospectus is being drafted, a marketing strategy aimed at generating investor interest and momentum is drawn up.

Preparation of investor meetings

Your marketing presentation is the your key tool for investor meetings. Content is drawn exclusively from prospectus content. Investor meetings are usually conducted by the CEO and the CFO.

You will meet potential institutional investors and start to build crucial relationships, based on these main phases:

early-look investor meetings
pre-deal investor education
management roadshow
media presentation

The offer period opens after regulatory approval and with management roadshow.

As investor meetings are held, banks record investor interest in the book within your pre-established price range. This demand is flexible and the final price is set based on demand at various points in the price range.

If your IPO is oversubscribed, you can exercise flexibility clauses as an opportunity to aggregate gross proceeds or to allow shareholders interested in selling to cash out part of their investments.