Public Companies and Equity Finance offers a clear and practical examination of the legal and regulatory framework within which public companies operate. The guide examines all aspects of the life of a public company, including the IPO, the regulatory regime, corporate governance issues and listed company transactions. Particular emphasis is given to those areas which, typically, junior lawyers will experience. Throughout the text, the lawyer's role is placed in context and attention is given to the roles of other advisers to public companies where relevant to the lawyer. This new edition has been fully updated to cover all recent legislative and case law developments. It now covers all of the Companies Act 2006 provisions including the final tranche which came into force on 1 October 2009 covering company formation, a company’s constitution, re-registration as a public company, company meetings, issuing new shares and financial assistance.