Public Offering Risk Management

Abstract

The present invention provides an auction system that allows IPO sales to be offered in an open and transparent manner, wherein, a certain percentage (up to 100%) of shares in an IPO can be offered to qualified bidders at a “buy now” pre-auction price, set by an issuer and/or underwriter. Investors can be allowed to “bid some shares out of the auction process” and thus guarantee those investors' allocation while also allowing bidders to participate in an open auction for other shares. Shares of stock to be offered in an IPO can include a subset of pre-auction price shares and a subset of auction price shares. The pre-auction price shares are offered to pre-auction bidders at a pre-auction price, and auction shares are generally sold to the highest bidder. Pre-auction sales can serve as a catalyst for generating enthusiasm for an associated IPO auction.

1 - 19 . (canceled) 
     
     
         20 . A method of interacting with a network access device so as to participate in an initial public offering of shares of stock, the method comprising the steps of:
 receiving information at the network access device descriptive of the initial public offering that includes pre-auction shares to be sold at a pre-auction price and auction shares to be sold at an auction to the highest bidder;   receiving at the network access device an offer to purchase pre-auction shares of the stock at the pre-auction price; and   generating via a network access input device an indication of an acceptance to purchase the pre-auction shares of the stock offered at the pre-auction price.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising determining the pre-auction price. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein determining the pre-auction price includes measuring a level of investor interest. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising generating a graphical user interface that includes information descriptive of the pre-auction price. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the pre-auction shares to be sold at the pre-auction price include up to one-hundred percent of the initial public offering of shares of stock. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the pre-auction shares to be sold at the pre-auction price includes a percentage of the initial public offering of shares of stock set by an issuer or underwriter. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the auction shares to be sold at the auction to the highest bidder are subject to a reserve price. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , further comprising calculating the reserve price based on a minimum capital raising target. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising:
 determining if all of the initial public offering of shares of stock have been sold at pre-auction prices; and   proceeding with the auction if there are any remaining shares of the stock available after a closing of an offering of pre-auction shares at the pre-auction price.   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising generating a graphical user interface screen having a first portion to display information descriptive of the initial public offering, a second portion for displaying information descriptive of pre-auction pricing and pre-auction bids and sells, a third portion to display information descriptive of pre-auction bidders, and a fourth portion to display instructions relating to bidding for the auction shares. 
     
     
         30 . A system comprising
 means for receiving information descriptive of an initial public offering that includes pre-auction shares to be sold at a pre-auction price and auction shares to be sold at an auction to the highest bidder;   means for receiving an offer to purchase a quantity of the pre-auction shares of the stock at the pre-auction price; and   means for generating an indication of an acceptance to purchase the pre-auction shares of the stock offered at the pre-auction price.   
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 30 , wherein the information descriptive of the initial public offering includes a reserve price. 
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 31 , further comprising means for auctioning the auction shares to the highest bidder subject to the reserve price. 
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 31 , further comprising means for determining if the reserve price has been met. 
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 30 , further comprising means for pre-qualifying bidders. 
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 30 , further comprising means for generating a graphical user interface screen having a first portion to display information descriptive of the initial public offering, a second portion for displaying information descriptive of pre-auction pricing and pre-auction bids and sells, a third portion to display information descriptive of pre-auction bidders, and a fourth portion to display instructions relating to bidding for the auction shares. 
     
     
         36 . A system comprising:
 a processor;   a database having stored thereon data related to an initial public offering, wherein the data includes an indication of a quantity of pre-auction shares to be offered for sale at a pre-auction price to pre-auction bidders;   a communication device to receive, via a network, an offer from at least one of the pre-auction bidders to purchase at least some of pre-auction shares of the stock at the pre-auction price; and   publishing, via the network, an indication of an acceptance to the offer to purchase at least some of the pre-auction shares of the stock offered at the pre-auction price.   
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 36 , wherein the database includes searchable data structures for processing risk management searches associated with a company's earnings. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 36 , further comprising an access device having stored thereon proprietary software allowing the bidder to submit the offer. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 36 , further comprising:
 means for determining if any auction shares of the initial public offering are available to be auctioned to a highest bidder; and   means for auctioning the auction shares of the initial public offering.   
     
     
         40 . A network access device comprising:
 a memory;   a display device operable to display a graphical user interface screen;   an input/output device in communication with the display device;   a processor in communication with the input/output device and operable to execute instructions stored in the memory; and   wherein the memory has stored thereon processor executable instructions to cause the processor to communicate display data to the input/output device to cause the graphical user interface screen to be displayed on the display device, wherein the graphical user interface screen comprises a first portion to display information descriptive of an initial public offering that includes pre-auction shares to be sold at a pre-auction price and auction shares to be sold at an auction to the highest bidder, a second portion for displaying information descriptive of pre-auction pricing and pre-auction bids and sells, a third portion to display information descriptive of pre-auction bidders, and a fourth portion to display instructions relating to bidding for auction shares offered in the initial public offering.