Posted on October 3rd, 2013. Posted by John Woolford, MBA
Many early-stage companies need consistent access to capital to invest in growing the business, to fund long-term projects, or for R&D. Over the past few decades, alternate modes of funding have evolved to help public companies raise money more expeditiously. One mode of funding is at-the-market (ATM) financing, which emerged in the 1980s with utility companies looking to raise capital on an ongoing basis. From that time on, companies in a broader range of industries, both large cap and small cap, started using it, and when the market dropped in 2008, the number of companies seeking funding through ATMs rose significantly.
Today, many public-company CFOs and CEOs, especially in biotech/life sciences, consider an ATM financing part of their capital-raising arsenal. When deciding on whether or not to put an ATM in place, it is important to understand how an ATM functions, and the pros and cons. Continue Reading
Posted on May 13th, 2013. Posted by ICR Westwicke
Unless you’ve been stranded on a distant planet, you’ve noticed that equity markets have been hitting new highs lately, and that’s been accompanied by an increasingly robust capital markets environment, even including initial public offerings (IPOs). In fact, the current public healthcare IPO backlog stands at 14, with many more companies already confidentially initiating plans to pursue going public over the remainder of the year.
As recently as six months ago when we would meet with CFOs and CEOs of private companies (or their venture investors), they would have long lists of reasons why their company would never go public. The reasons included cost of capital, the hassle of being a public company, legal requirements, and compliance costs. All of these are particular burdens for smaller companies. In addition, if executives or investors were looking for an exit, they calculated better valuations if they sold to a strategic acquirer or private equity firm. An IPO was truly an option of last resort. Today, when we meet with these same constituents, we see a dramatic shift in their attitude towards going public.
Changing Tides for Healthcare Companies
So what has changed? The overall equity markets are much stronger, IPOs are getting done and trading up in the aftermarket and sentiment from the buy-side has become much more favorable. Some of this positive change has to be credited to the federal JOBS Act—a series of measures that allows private companies to become public in ways that are less burdensome and less costly.
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Posted on January 2nd, 2013. Posted by Mark Klausner
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest” – Benjamin Franklin
Welcome to the new blog of Westwicke, the largest healthcare-focused investor relations and capital markets advisory firm in the country. Here, we’ll be sharing wisdom, insights and knowledge about all aspects of investor relations (IR) and the capital markets with a specific emphasis on what’s important for CEOs, CFOs and IROs at life sciences, medical technology, and healthcare services/HCIT companies.
Who we are
All of the members of the Westwicke team who will be penning posts are seasoned Wall Street experts: former sell-side research analysts, buy-side analysts and portfolio managers, investment bankers, institutional salespeople, and equity capital markets professionals. We’ll be sharing our views based on our collective 200 years of Wall Street experience, a deep knowledge of the healthcare industry, and a history of successful strategic partnership with our clients.
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