Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical last week pushed back the launch of its US$600 million initial public offering from October 11 to, most likely, today - possibly putting it on track for an accelerated marketing. (See "Take your guess for Fosun Pharma pricing", , April 30).
The selling phase of an IPO is often delayed. Many deals are also postponed midway towards the closing of their book of demand, and prior to the final pricing stage.
Generally, the availability of financial information commonly affects the timing of an IPO. There are several reasons for this.
First, the accounts must be relatively recent so as to comply with the requirements of the Hong Kong exchange. In effect, the latest financial period reported on by the accountants must not have ended more than six months before the date of the prospectus.
In some cases, it may be necessary to include reviewed (rather than audited) quarterly or six-monthly accounts (as well as those for the corresponding period in the previous year, so as to enable comparisons), in addition to the year-end financials.
Second, large acquisitions (or disposals) may also require the computing of fresh accounts, showing the reshaped business as if it had existed in prior years.
