Direct Listing
Also called: direct public offering, DPO
A direct listing puts existing shares onto an exchange without issuing new ones or hiring underwriters to place them. The company raises no money but avoids underwriting fees and the underpricing that leaves so much value on the table in a traditional IPO — first-day pops have averaged roughly 18% historically, money that transfers from the company to IPO allocatees. The trade-off is no price support and no guaranteed institutional book.