Going Public: A Growth Opportunity for “Research Intensive” Companies: The El.En Group Case

In the present paper we argue that going public could be an important growth opportunity for a “research intensive” company, but requires some conditions, strictly linked to the credibility problem, the capital openness and the company’s strategic model. We explore this issue with the support of the El.En. Group, an innovative Italian group, leader in Europe and one of the most relevant international players in the production and trading of laser for medical and industrial sector. Thanks to the going public choice in 2000, El.En. obtained significant financial resources that allowed it to increase its size, to invest in R&D to develop new laser applications and to strengthen its presence in new markets. The trust in the going public benefits is confirmed by the listing, in 2002, of one of its American branches on the NASDAQ Exchang