Raising Capital In Difficult Times

In the current global financial crisis raising capital has become a significant issue for many companies. Banks and financial institutions are now more cautious about their lending practices, regularly imposing relatively stringent financial and security covenants. As an alternative to bank finance, many companies have looked to the equity markets in an attempt to "repair their balance sheets". Whilst the number of initial public offerings has almost reduced to a trickle over the past eighteen months, recent capital raisings in the secondary market have been relatively numerous, large and successful. This FocusPaper briefly examines some of the alternative forms of raising capital that companies might consider pursing.