Charles Schwab Europe, the online stockbroker, in association with EO, has launched an internet-based subscription platform aimed at enabling retail investors to gain access to European initial public offerings.
EO provides the technology platform for Schwab's new IPO service, as well as the IPOs themselves, which it obtains through relationships with sponsoring investment banks. For example, EO has a partnership deal with UBS Warburg, which has a 3% stake in EO in exchange for letting EO in on a part of IPOs it lead manages.
Leigh Burdick, managing director and head of business development at EO, said: "The offering provides Schwab's clients both access to our deal flow from the investment banks, as well as our engine and customer services capabilities, addressing their entire customer base, online and offline."
The IPO service could be attractive to Schwab's 100,000 on-line European retail clients, who rightly feel excluded from IPOs, while EO will gain much greater exposure for its IPO product.
Distribution is limited however: both Charles Schwab Europe and EO are regulated by the FSA in the UK, and at present the IPO service can sell only to residents of the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
A bigger problem, however, is that EO has not yet succeeded in gaining access to major IPOs. Currently it is offering some British VCTS (Venture Capital Trusts) and a UK investment fund. It's stretching things a bit to call these issues 'IPO's. EO may be in line to offer part of the upcoming Orange flotation, but this could just be a reflection of increasing desperation on the part of France Telecom's advisers, who are trying to launch a record-breaking IPO onto a market which is disillusioned with high-tech and telecoms paper.
.
Network Tweets
Network BlogsContent
provided by
|
Archive | Resources | Partners | Site Map | Links | Newsletter Archive | Contact | RSS Feeds | About | Syndication | Advertising & Marketing | Recruitment | Terms & Conditions | Privacy & Cookies
Copyright © 2012 - All Rights Reserved - Tax-News.com
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Tax-News.com has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments.
Write a comment