SEC Commissioner Michael Piwowar described the present state and future course of the U.S. initial public offering ("IPO") market.
At a "Dialogue" sponsored by the SEC and New York University on Securities Market Regulation, Commissioner Piwowar considered the fact that the U.S. IPO market has been significantly less robust over the last 15 years. He noted that some foreign companies choose not to go public in the United States, and that small U.S. companies often elect to seek funding from alternative private sources of capital. Commissioner Piwowar also pointed out that new offering methods, such as Crowdfunding and Regulation A, provide companies with alternatives to going public.
He concluded that regulatory changes and other measures, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, Regulation NMS, and modifications to certain securities laws under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, may contribute to the decline of IPOs and increase the likelihood that companies elect to remain private for longer periods of time. Commissioner Piwowar expressed the Commission's resolve to "revitalize the IPO market," and encouraged new ideas and recommendations.
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