Reading: Why Go Public?

The decision to go public is a defining moment in the life of a company, with far-reaching implications on virtually all aspects of its activities.

In this section, we discuss the main benefits and costs of going (and being) public. Before doing so, it is important to note that not all companies can actually go public, as there are specific listing requirements which companies have to fulfill in order to go public.

The section proceeds as follows:

• We start with a brief overview of the listing requirements on some major stock exchanges
• We discuss the key benefits of going and being public
• We discuss potential disadvantages of going and being public
• We look at some implications of this trade-off between the costs and benefits of public companies.