On September 12, 2013, Twitter confidentially filed for an I.P.O. with the S.E.C., but made it publicly known through its own website (Sommer, 2013). It does not seem to be a coincidence that they have timed their offering with the rise of Facebook’s stock and the overall market. Wisely, Twitter has waited to make the offering until the disaster of last year has begun to dissipate, but it is possible that it will crash and burn at the beginning just like Facebook.
Twitter decided to take advantage of the confidentiality provision within the JOBS Act that allows companies to “limit transparency” by keeping company financial information private up until three weeks before the company promotes its offering. However, the only companies who can use this provision are those that have annual revenue less than $1 billion. This gives us a little insight into how well Twitter is doing financially (Sommer, 2013).
The confidentiality provision in the JOBS Act was intended for entrepreneurial firms who want to avoid too much attention and “prying eyes that might deter them from going public and growing to maturity”, said Kate Mitchell, a former chairwoman of the private I.P.O. Task Force. When asked about why the limit was set at $1 billion she stated, “We did that because we wanted I.P.O.’s to succeed. Had the limit been lower, it might have given smaller companies an incentive to rush to take advantage of it too soon, before their revenues had grown and, maybe, without a business plan that worked” (Sommer, 2013). Most companies are using this new provision because they can begin the process without letting competing companies know. They can also discuss problems privately with the S.E.C. and have the option of going back on their plan to go public without bad publicity.
Twitter, with an estimated 2,000 employees, is a prime example of how the JOBS Act has contributed to