Investor Relations

xiiINTRODUCTIONThere can be no question that Investor Relations are increasingly complexand target a wider and more demanding audience. Ever greater professionalismis thus required in an environment where the stakes and risks are realand growing.With this book, my goal is to share with you a wealth of both strategicand tactical advice on how to understand and implement Investor Relations,wherever you are located, whether private or public. Because rules andregulations, a key aspect of the practice of Investor Relations, can differfrom one country to another and evolve over time, I have given particularattention to international best practices: These can be easily implemented tocomply with the most frequently adopted regulatory requirement, as well asto appeal to the global investment community.Even if, originally, Investor Relations most exclusively referred toa finance function within companies whose equity is traded on a stockexchange, they can, and should, actually be actively implemented by othercategories of companies that are competing for capital, regardless of theirsize, their sector, or their financial track record. While this book is chieflydevoted to potentially or already publicly traded companies, most of therecommendations it contains will, therefore, be useful to any organization:Whether you are seeking to raise capital by attracting venture capitalists orprivate investors without going through the stock market, or whether youbelong to a state-owned enterprise or a sovereign entity that is intendingto tap the bond markets, you will be taken through the essential steps forunderstanding, conveying and, ultimately, marketing value.The book combines the art and science of marketing, financial analysis,Investor Relations in a single source. It offers expert advice, helpfultips, and successful ideas, including sample documents or templates in theappendix titled “Resources.” Because it was written with the goal to offerclear and comprehensive information, the book is intended for the noviceand for the sophisticate alike.Divided into four comprehensive parts, this book clearly describes theentire process, from the decision to design a dedicated Investor Relationsstrategy to the measure of its return on investment.Chapter 1 shows that going public means entering a new competitiveenvironment where thousands of other companies are also competing oncapital markets. It describes the various objectives for getting listed on afinancial market: issuing new shares or bonds to help fund expansion, diversifyingthe shareholder base, building employee loyalty, extracting morevalue from the asset portfolio, and enhancing awareness of the company,for instance.It then moves on to describe the four-step process of Investor Relationsin the initial public offering (IPO), from the structuring of the transaction