What Is an Allotment?

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What Is an Allotment?

Let me explain what an allotment means in business terms. It's the systematic way resources get distributed or assigned to different entities over time. In most cases, when we talk about allotment, we're referring to the distribution of equity, especially the shares given to a participating underwriting firm during an initial public offering, or IPO.

You'll see various types of allotments when new shares are issued and handed out to new or existing shareholders. Companies do this when demand far outstrips the available supply.

Key Takeaways

An allotment is the systematic distribution of business resources across different entities and over time.
It generally refers to the allocation of shares granted to a participating underwriting firm during an initial public offering.
Allotments are commonly executed when demand is strong and exceeds supply.
Companies can also execute allotments through stock splits, employee stock options, and rights offerings.
The main reason that a company issues new shares for allotment is to raise money to finance business operations.

Understanding Allotments

In the business world, allotment is about distributing resources systematically across entities and over periods. When it comes to finance, it usually means allocating shares during a public share issuance. If a private company needs to raise capital—for operations, a big purchase, or acquiring a competitor—it might go public by issuing shares. Typically, two or more financial institutions underwrite this public offering, and each gets a specific number of shares to sell.

The allotment process during an IPO can be complicated, even for individual investors like you. Stock markets are efficient at matching prices and quantities, but demand has to be estimated before the IPO happens. You, as an investor, must express interest in how many shares you'd like at a specific price beforehand.

If demand is too high, the shares you actually get allotted might be fewer than what you requested. If demand is low—meaning the IPO is undersubscribed—you might get your desired allotment at a lower price. But low demand often causes the share price to fall after the IPO, indicating oversubscription in a way.

Here's a tip for you if you're new to IPO investing: start small, because the allotment process can be tricky.

Other Forms of Allotment

Allotment isn't just for IPOs. It happens when a company's directors set aside new shares for predetermined shareholders—those who've applied for new shares or earned them through existing ownership. For instance, in a stock split, shares are allocated proportionately based on what you already own.

Companies also allot shares to employees via employee stock options, or ESOs. This is compensation on top of salaries to attract and retain staff. ESOs motivate better performance by increasing shares without diluting ownership.

Then there are rights offerings or rights issues, where shares are allocated to investors who want to buy more, but it's optional. It gives you the right, not the obligation, to purchase additional shares. Some companies use this for acquisitions, offering shares in the new entity to the target company's shareholders.

Any leftover shares go to other firms that bid for the right to sell them.

Reasons for Raising Shares

The top reason a company issues new shares for allotment is to raise money for business operations. An IPO serves this purpose too. There aren't many other reasons for issuing and allocating new shares.

New shares can pay off short- or long-term debt, reducing interest payments and improving ratios like debt-to-equity or debt-to-asset. Even without debt, companies might issue shares if current growth exceeds sustainable levels, funding ongoing organic growth.

Directors can issue new shares to fund acquisitions or takeovers. In takeovers, new shares might be allotted to the acquired company's shareholders, swapping their old shares for equity in the new company.

As a reward, companies issue new shares to existing shareholders and stakeholders. A scrip dividend, for example, gives you new shares proportional to what a cash dividend would have been worth.

Overallotment Options

Underwriters have options to sell extra shares in an IPO or follow-on offering, known as overallotment or greenshoe options.

With overallotment, underwriters can issue up to 15% more shares than originally planned. They don't have to do this on the day of the offering; they can take up to 30 days. This happens when shares trade higher than the offering price and demand is very high.

Overallotments help stabilize share prices on the market, keeping them below the offering price if needed. If prices rise above, underwriters buy back at the offering price to avoid losses. If prices fall below, they buy shares to reduce supply and potentially push prices up.

What Is an IPO Greenshoe?

A greenshoe is an overallotment option during an IPO. It lets underwriters sell more shares than the company initially intended, usually when demand is higher than expected.

Greenshoe options stabilize prices and flatten fluctuations. Underwriters can sell up to 15% more shares, with up to 30 days after the IPO to act if demand spikes.

Oversubscription occurs when share demand is higher than anticipated, leading to significantly rising prices. In this case, you as an investor get fewer shares at a higher price.

Undersubscription is when demand is lower than expected, causing the stock price to drop. Here, you might receive more shares than anticipated, but at a lower price.

How Does an IPO Determine the Allotment of Shares?

Underwriters estimate demand to figure out how many shares they expect to sell before the IPO. Once set, they're given a certain number of shares to sell to the public. Prices come from market demand—high demand means a higher IPO price, low demand leads to a lower price per share.

What Is an Allotment?

Highlights