Business owners looking to take their company public have the option to do so via dormant public assets known as cash shells, according to a new paper by Growth Company Investor.
Taking a company public is a long and arduous process and many small business owners don’t have the time or resources to undertake all of the procedures. But one alternative is to ‘reverse into a shell’, according to the Cash Shells Directory 2015.
The report contains insight from experts in the field including Peterhouse Corporate Finance CEO Peter Greensmith and Growth Company Investor editor David Thornton – who has more than 30 years of experience as a fund manager.
>See also: Ghost in the shell – an alternative route to public markets
As well as the commentary the report contains a list and details of 83 public companies that are currently dormant – the cash shells.
Among the cash shells in the report are 20 that trade at a discount to their net assets and £23.5m “cash at hand” in just three of the examples given.
“The private-to-public pipeline via reverse takeovers (RTOs) will, in our opinion, be the next big wave in micro-cap funding,” said Arlignton Group Asset Management director Malcolm Burne.
“Mainly as a result of the explosion in alternative finance such as crowdfunding, corporate spin-offs and divestments as owners, managers and other insiders, entrepreneurs and investors collectively seek to monetise their various shareholdings in private companies.”
The report, sponsored by Arlington Group Asset Management and Peterhouse Corporate Finance, was formally launched today (Wed 7 Oct) at a breakfast in London.
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