How’s the shutdown going to affect Twitter’s IPO?
Twitter has gone public with its plans to go public. We can now take a look at the S-1 form the social media company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Twitter hopes to raise a billion dollars.
So far, the government shutdown has not affected the SEC. With some cash left over, the regulator says it’s still “open and operational.” But if the shutdown drags on, things could change.
“As long as the SEC is back at their desks in three weeks, Twitter will be fine,” Len Blum says. He is managing partner at Westwood Capital, LLC.
Twitter filed its IPO confidentially a few weeks ago, so the SEC had a chance to review it before the shutdown started. A bigger variable, potentially, is the debt ceiling debate.
“You know, what Washington is doing or not doing these days has an effect on the market,” Blum says.
Twitter will begin what’s called a ‘road show.’ Executives will talk to potential investors and underwriters will get a sense of what the company’s stock price should be.
“You know, if you wait for the congress to stop being dysfunctional, you’re never going to go public,” Tim Pollock says. He is the Farrell Professor of Entrepreneurship in the Management and Organization Department at Penn State University Smeal College of Business.
After the road show, and once Twitter gets the SEC’s approval, the shutdown may be over. Then, Twitter will have some flexibility to decide when its stock will go on sale.
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