Stifel Expert Insights interview: Exploring IPO readiness

An IPO isn’t the finish line; it is the start of a company’s next big chapter.

In this episode of the Stifel Europe Expert Insight Series, Per Einar Ellefsen, CEO of Amundsen Investment Management, shares why strong management teams win investor trust, how listening to feedback shapes a compelling equity story, and why IPOs are always bought, not sold. Discover how to turn your listing into lasting momentum that drives growth, liquidity, and valuation beyond day one.

What excites me most about an IPO is being able to meet and invest together with the management team that's starting a new journey as this company.

What makes an IPO stand out to you?
What excites me most about an IPO is being able to meet and invest together with the management team that's starting a new journey as this company. What makes us especially interested is if we see a management team, uh, who are usually founders really driving the business forward as their own company, not just as managers.

What is a key factor in your decision?
The truth is in an IPO process, most investors will not have much time with management. So the management has to create a setting where their guidance and the equity story they're telling to investors is very believable.

What's a deal breaker?
If the company's coming with a price and is not listening to the input on investors, it's important to say that IPOs are bought, not sold. You need to generate interest among a large panel of investors and for that, you need to be able to listen to the feedback that you're receiving from those investors.

What happens after the IPO?
You have to think about your IPO investors as your early fanbase, and actually the new investors that come post IPO will contribute to increasing the liquidity, increasing the valuation.

Key piece of advice?
There's so much attention being brought to the transaction, but you have to keep an eye as a management team on everything you're going to be delivering on Post IPO. Think about the IPO as only a step and not the end goal.