Alternative Venture Finance: Shell Corporations

A shell corporation is a company that is incorporated but has no significant assets or operations. These corporations may be formed as an alternative venture financing mechanism.

Shell company financing works in two ways. In many cases, the shell corporation is created from scratch. The purpose of these shells is to raise money and to get a number of shares outstanding into the public’s hands. In most cases, the shares are sold in units. That is, the shares are sold as one share of common stuck plus warrants at the current offering price.

The “empty” shell is then merged with the operating company. The merged companies begin to report operating results and when the results are good, existing stockholders exercise their warrants and provide needed capital into the company.

A second type of shell corporation is formed when the company seeking capital identifies an existing shell or inactive public company (IPC) as a candidate for a reverse acquisition. This typically occurs after a public company emerges from bankruptcy. At this time it may be void of assets other than cash. In fact, the principal asset of the IPC is its often its public registration and a roster of shareholders from which new capital may be raised.

Shell corporations are a quick and cost effective way of taking a company public and raising public capital. However, typically bridge capital is required to finance the process and take the company to a point where investors are interested in exercising their options.
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Small Business Loan Basics

Many people who wish to start their own business need an injection of financial capital at the beginning of a business; the main source of funding for entrepreneurs is business loans.

Let’s take a look at what you should expect if you plan to apply for one.

First of all, you should know that most lenders have their doubts when it comes to lending money to a first-time business owner. You’re considered a high business risk at this point, and you should go in to your loan negotiations armed with a few advantages. Of course, the ideal option is to run your business for a few years, even just out of your home, and turn a good profit before approaching a bank for a loan.

That shows that you have the ability to make money and that your business won’t flop before the Open sign shows up on the door. But if this isn’t possible, if you need the cash before you can begin at all, then chances are you will need to offer some type of collateral. Collateral can be anything from your car to your home and everything in between. Depending on the size of the loan, you may require some pretty hard assets for collateral. The lender is not interested in whether or not your business will make money, aside from the extent that will allow you to pay them back on time. They simply don’t want to lose out on the loan, and so you’ll have to find some way to back yourself up.

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