We're all familiar with IPOs from the market perspective. We've seen the announcements and watched share price rise and fall. However, when it comes time to take a company public, we may not know the basics. For instance, how long is the IPO process? Do you know how to prepare your company for an IPO?

Wilson Sonsini, a global law firm, ushering promising and innovative companies through their business life cycle, needed a time- and resource-intensive process to meet tight deadlines.

They leverage DFIN’s ActiveDisclosure platform to increase the operational efficiency of OneStream’s IPO process which provides an ecosystem of digital workflows, allowing the attorneys to securely share documents for real-time reviews and comments by clients, bankers, auditors, and other stakeholders.

OneStream, in collaboration with Wilson Sonsini and DFIN subject matter experts, used ActiveDisclosure financial reporting and SEC filing software to optimize IPO process efficiency.

"The summer wave of offerings expected in Q3 did not materialize, with only thirteen sizeable IPOs raising ~$7.7 billion. The slow rebound will likely continue in Q4, although some substantial offerings are on the horizon, including billion-dollar offerings for DFIN clients Ingram Micro, and Solera."
Craig Clay, President of Global Capital Markets, DFIN 

It's no secret that the IPO market has been sluggish since 2021. Market volatility, geopolitical instability and increased interest rates are just a few of the forces that have tampered enthusiasm for initial public offerings. Fortunately, the trend in the first half of 2024 has shown some signs of improvement. According to the most recent figures, there were 94 total IPOs in the first half of the year, with roughly $18.5 billion in capital raised through those efforts. This represents an increase of more than 80% when compared to the same period in 2023.

"Spring showers created some welcomed activity for $100 million+ IPOs in Q2, surpassing 2022 and 2023's full-year volume. As we head into the summer months, the normal summer lull is expected to be replaced with a splash as companies look to list before the November election." 
Craig Clay, President of Global Capital Markets, DFIN 

Taking a company public requires a lot of paperwork. Companies preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) can file  a DRS submission, which stands for draft registration statement . Even though it's only a draft, the statement can be time-consuming to put together. Fortunately, SEC filing software can make the process easier.

Discover how DFIN helped PMV Pharma execute a successful IPO followed soon after by a 10-Q and 10-K.

“If we hadn’t had ActiveDisclosure in place, however, I’m not sure how we would have survived at all. We had a third-quarter 10-Q requirement very soon after IPO, and without AD, we would have had to work either through our attorneys or with a paper proofing process that would have been extremely inefficient.”
J.D. KERN 
VP & Controller at PMV Pharma 

Discover how DFIN helped Zapp go public on NASDAQ without spending a lot of time and money.

“We find ActiveDisclosure's time-saving abilities a major advantage, especially the automatic updates of financial reports and SEC disclosures when linked Excel files change.”
JONATHAN SALMON
Group Financial Controller at Zapp

The confidential IPO process was originally developed as an easier way for smaller companies to go public. Judging from some of the companies that have used this route to go public, the private method is just as likely to be used by a Silicon Valley giant as a smaller entity these days.

If you are in the early stages of planning to take a company public, you may be interested in some of the benefits that confidential IPO filings offer over other methods.