'If all goes as planned, this week's IPO market will feel like 2007 again, when new stocks were plentiful and there were no barren periods.' (WSJ, September 21, 2009)
Is this the return of IPOs as a viable option for growth companies? Over the last 18 months, IPOs in exchanges such Nasdaq, Dow, LSE have been few and far between. Given the lack of public funding options in these main exchanges, should a mid-late stage company look at alternative exchanges in various markets across the globe (AIM, TSX, Taiwan)? What is the appetite amongst institutional and retail investors in these markets? Are there sectors that fare better than others in these markets? Can these listings be a stepping stone to the main markets? Are the regulatory issues any less stringent and if so why? Is there enough liquidity in these markets to be a viable exit option for early round investors? After several rounds of SEC rule changes, are OTC BB Shells for reverse mergers a safe vehicle for emerging growth companies?
The workshop will be chaired by Don Reinke, Partner at ReedSmith and Laird Cagan, Managing Director Cagan McAfee Capital Partners and look at various instruments available to a growth company looking for funding via public markets including reverse mergers, resale of privately placed securities to QIBs (Rule 144a) etc.
Mr. Don Reinke has extensive experience as a corporate lawyer in the areas of venture capital finance, public securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and other general corporate representation of technology start-up and emerging growth companies, as well as venture funds and investment banks. Mr. Reinke's clients include the first U.S. company to ever conduct its IPO on the London Stock Exchange as well as another client that is one of only a handful of U.S. dual listed AIM (London) NYSE Amex traded public companies. Don is currently a Deputy Chair of the firm’s Global Emerging Company/Venture Capital Practice and former member of the State Bar's Corporations Committee. Don has also previously been selected as a Northern California "Super Lawyer" by Law & Politics magazine and the publishers of San Francisco Magazine. Mr. Laird Q. Cagan is Managing Director and co-founder of Cagan McAfee Capital Partners, LLC a private investment and merchant bank in Cupertino, California. CMCP has founded, funded and taken public 10 companies in a variety of industries including energy, healthcare, information technologies, and environmental. CMCP portfolio companies have raised over $600 million with a combined high market capitalization of over $3 billion. Mr. Cagan was a founder and Chairman of Evolution Petroleum Corporation (AMEX: EPM), a company he founded to develop mature oil & gas fields with advanced technologies. He is also a Managing Director and Principal of Colorado Financial Service Corporation a NASD-licensed Broker-Dealer, and was a director of AE BioFuels (AEBF.OB), Pacific Asia Petroleum (PAPF.OB), WorldSage (WRSG.PK), TWL Corp (TWLO.OB) and Fortes Financial Corp. Mr. Cagan attended M.I.T. and received a BS, MS and MBA from Stanford University
Agenda:
7:00 – 8:00am: Breakfast and Networking8:00 – 8:15am: Welcome and Introduction8:15 – 9:45am: Workshop Presentations -Don Reinke, Partner at ReedSmith -Laird Cagan, Managing Director Cagan McAfee Capital Partners 9:45 – 10:00am: Closing Remarks
Location:
TiE Conference Center
2903 Bunker Hill Lane
Santa Clara, CA 95054 
