NextWave Private Equity

Jackie Kelley, EY Americas IPO Leader discusses IPO readiness for private equity-owned companies.

Visit ey.com to read our latest private equity perspectives.

An IPO is often a desired exit for private equity-backed companies. Soaring valuations in sectors, such as technology and biotech have led business leaders to choose an IPO to secure both investment and trust from the public market. Companies that choose an IPO must prepare not only for the event itself but also to meet public market shareholder expectations around growth, transparency, accountability and performance.

An assessment of IPO readiness is a critical step in ensuring a company is prepared not only to enter the public markets, but to be successful in both the short and long term.

• Start discussions about IPO readiness 18-24 months in advance.
• Team with experienced advisors who have seen the pitfalls and know how to avoid them.
• Invest to mature back-end infrastructure, build/scale critical processes and acquire the talent needed to run a predictable business that will continue to scale and can meet the regulatory compliance requirements of the public market.
• Focus on creating a strong foundation for both the IPO and for the company's rapid growth post-IPO.
• Private Equity investors should not expect to fully exit at the time of IPO as existing shareholders are expected to remain invested for a few years.

Charles Honnywill, EY UK&I Divestiture Advisory Services Leader, discusses specific actions PE fund managers can take to prepare for a successful, well-timed exit.

Visit ey.com to read our latest private equity perspectives.

It can be difficult for PE fund managers to have a comprehensive outside-in perspective when considering the sale of a portfolio company due to what Charles calls a "baggage of ownership": the inability of a fund manager to adopt the mindset of a likely buyer due to their proximity to an investment. As a result, PE funds historically have not always planned as methodically around the exit of a business as they do upon its investment.

In this episode, Charles explains this challenge, articulates the benefits of an IPO vs. outright sale and recommends specific actions PE fund managers can take to prepare for a successful, well-timed exit.

• While IPO remains the most popular exit route, other options include an outright sale to a strategic buyer or PE fund
• PE funds are starting to think more methodically around exit, but there is a trend toward greater preparedness
• The top five exit considerations for a PE-backed company include:
  1. Create a plan 18 months prior to expected sale
  2. Consider the equity story of potential buyers
  3. Make necessary changes to your management team
  4. Consider the timetables of the market and likely buyers
  5. Consider your sale from a financial, operational, commercial, tax/legal and regulatory perspective

Glenn Engler, EY-Parthenon Global Digital Leader and EY Americas Strategy and Transactions Digital Strategy Leader discusses how and where digital competence can be incorporated into the diligence process and manifested in a PE firm or portfolio company's business strategy.

Visit ey.com to read our latest private equity perspectives.

The word "digital" can be interpreted in a multitude of ways, but it's important for PE firms and CEOs to start with a broad view regardless of industry or competency in the context of a deal. Because digital impacts every aspect of a business, digital strategy should be owned by the CEO, not siloed into individual functional areas such as marketing or technology.

PE firms, whether considering investment decisions, operational improvements or driving growth, must inject digital competence throughout the diligence process and business strategy to fully understand the value in both the target landscape and company DNA.

• Digital touches every aspect of a PE firm or portfolio company, so the CEO should own a digital strategy inspired by the needs of the business and customer.
• Digital competence is critical in understanding a target's value and must be woven throughout the diligence process.
• PE firms must look holistically and more upstream where PE, VC and corporate dollars flow to understand where value is created in the target landscape.
• PE firms can explore digital in driving operational expertise and growth in portfolio companies with intelligent automation, digitizing supply chains, cloud, omnichannel/ecommerce, "frictionless" customer experience and new revenue models.