Navigating the capital markets and effectively accessing capital is a challenge for many companies.

At Gateway Group, one of the vital services we provide to our corporate clients is advisory on all aspects of their capital markets activity. This ranges from early-stage privates progressing towards IPO to public companies considering equity offering options for growth capital.  

To discuss this topic further, we sat down with one of our Managing Directors, Georg Venturatos, for a Q&A session around key areas of capital markets advisory and the experiences that shaped his vantage point.

Q: How would you summarize the work Gateway does for its clients from a capital markets advisory perspective?

At a high level, we provide strategic counsel to our clients during their evaluation of a broad range of equity capital raise options and financing structures. We advise them on the best options available to secure their capital needs while optimizing shareholder value and economics for the company.  

For our public company clients, we are often advising on the most appropriate options to access growth capital through a variety of transactions such as marketed equity secondaries, bought deals, and at-the-market offerings.  With our private clients, we spend time developing roadmaps toward IPO or evaluating the best steps in preparation for another series funding round.        

Q: What is the advantage of working with Gateway specifically for companies actively accessing the capital markets?

A: At Gateway, we take an “internal” approach with all of our client relationships and thus often find ourselves involved in executive level discussions evaluating capital market opportunities, many of which can be transformative particularly for our small cap clientele.  

Gateway uniquely brings industry expertise, a network of banking relationships, and capital markets knowledge to each of its sector-focused teams. In my case, I spent several years in asset management followed by over a decade on the sell-side with a focus on energy prior to joining Gateway.  As head of Gateway’s Energy practice, I utilize the insight and relationships built over my career to guide clients on these transactions, introduce them to key banking teams within the industry, and provide guidance on anticipated market reactions.  

Q: What would you say to a prospective client looking to understand the benefits of working with an external capital markets advisor?

Our consistent interaction with the institutional buy-side and sell-side community enables us to provide valuable real-time feedback to management teams.  

It’s paramount for companies to have a strong perception of market sentiment and anticipated shareholder reaction to all types of potential transactions, from strategic M&A to equity and debt placements.  This counsel proves extremely valuable to clients during the evaluation process.  

Q: When it comes to banking partners, how does Gateway support its client’s selection process?

We work to support our clients in identifying banking teams that we believe are the best fit depending on the type of transaction (i.e. IPO, equity secondary, or M&A).  Our evaluation process is based on a number of factors, including but not limited to:

• Reputation and industry expertise

• Track record on comparable transactions

• Institutional investor network

• Size of the capital raise or deal

• Quality of research coverage

It’s important to mention that the syndicate selection process can be both art and science, thus in addition to the aforementioned criteria there is also an element of how well each team would work together and that comes with an understanding of management’s temperament and expectations.  

"The syndicate selection process can be both art and science."

Q: Awesome. Any last thoughts for a company considering working with Gateway?

Gateway operates on a busy street corner, and we regularly introduce investors and banking teams to new, exciting companies that we are working with directly.  We are diligent in keeping up to date on corporate transactions within the industry and understanding the capital flow trends thematically across the space.  

An experienced group of IR professionals, such as Gateway, can help make your capital markets journey as effective and efficient as possible so you can devote more focus to running your business.

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