IPO project: Throughout the semester, I will assign several component parts of a research project regarding a company that recently went public via an IPO. The objective of this project is to integrate the various parts of the course and to see how the concepts apply in practice. The project can be either an individual project or group project (no more than three to a group, but all members of the group must contribute). Please select a company that had an IPO sometime in 2014, preferably one with a relatively short operating history. Your selection is due Feb. 2 and your submission (on Sakai dropbox) should identify the company you have selected, a brief description of the business model, and should indicate whether the company was profitable at the time of the IPO. In addition, please find the fraction of the shares that are issued in the IPO are primary vs. secondary.

You can find historical information on the company from the company’s website and/or the SEC’s website (sec.gov) using EDGAR. You should look for reports like 10-Ks (annual reports), 10-Qs (quarterly reports), and S-1 or S-1A (prospectus), and proxy statements. Check carefully before making your selection to ensure that the documents have the financial information you need. Other important points to note while selecting a company:

• The prospectus normally has up to three years of historical financial data from before the IPO.
• After the IPO, quarterly and annual reports are available on the company’s website or the SEC’s website as mentioned above.
• Select a company whose prospectus indicates that the funds from the IPO will primarily be used for company purposes, not for cashing out the investors, entrepreneurs, management team.