Going public is not cheap. In addition to the underwriting discount (typically 7% on an IPO, although often lower on large offerings and higher on small offerings), a company going public incurs a variety of other expenses in connection with an IPO. These expenses include an SEC registration fee, a FINRA filing fee, a stock exchange listing fee, accounting fees and expenses, legal fees and expenses, transfer agent fees and expenses, printing expenses and road show expenses. The SEC, stock exchange and FINRA fees vary with the offering size, while the other offering expenses are largely unrelated to the size of the IPO.
How large are these IPO expenses? To find out, we reviewed the expense data disclosed in the registration statements for all US IPOs in the periods indicated below:
US IPO Expense Data
Legal Fees |
Accounting Fees |
Other Expenses |
Total Expenses |
|
2011: |
|
|
|
|
25th Percentile |
$1,263,000 |
$550,000 |
$895,000 |
$2,708,000 |
50th Percentile* |
$1,500,000 |
$890,000 |
$1,010,000 |
$3,400,000 |
75th Percentile |
$2,000,000 |
$1,168,000 |
$986,000 |
$4,154,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
2007-2011: |
|
|
|
|
25th Percentile |
$925,000 |
$500,000 |
$850,000 |
$2,275,000 |
50th Percentile* |
$1,333,000 |
$824,000 |
$943,000 |
$3,100,000 |
75th Percentile |
$2,000,000 |
$1,300,000 |
$900,000 |
$4,200,000 |
*median for time period presented
