Is your organisation ready to list?

 

You need to examine a wide range of factors in order to gauge your organisation’s preparedness for listing. The issues that need consideration includes:

  • What are your organisation's long-term goals and strategies?
  • Are there skill gaps at the senior management and board level?
  • How will these be resolved in a listed environment?
  • Are directors and senior managers prepared for greater disclosure, accountability and transparency after listing?
  • Is your organisation’s culture ready for listing?
  • Are there tax issues to be resolved?
  • Are strategies in place to retain key employees and key customers?
  • What initiatives (e.g. acquisitions) need to be completed before listing?
  • Are your operational, financial and management information systems sufficiently robust for a listed organisation?
  • Have you taken account of corporate governance best practice?
  • Is the timing right for a listing, in terms both of the business and of market conditions?
  • Do you understand what investors and the market expect and require from you?

Your answers to these questions will give a good indication of how prepared you are for the transition to a publicly-listed company.

Your organisation must also meet specific requirements set out in the ASX listing rules in order to be eligible to list. These requirements include a set of minimum admission criteria, including structure, size and number of shareholders.

The following tables summarise some of the key criteria your organisation will need to meet to be eligible for listing:

 

Profit or Asset Test

 

Profit test

 

A$1 million net profit over past 3 years +
A$400,000 net profit over last 12 months
or 

Asset test

$3 million Net Tangible Assets
or
A$10 million market capitalisation

 

Number of Shareholders

 

Minimum Number of Shareholders holding a parcel of shares with a value of at least $2,000

Free float (percentage of securities held by non-related parties of the company)

300

Not less than 50%

350

Not less than 25%

400

No minimum free float

 

Note: This is a general guide to listing requirements and is not exhaustive, nor a guarantee of a successful listing application.