A "reverse merger" is a method by which a Private Company or an unincorporated business goes public. In a reverse merger, a Private Company merges with an existing Public Company with no assets or liabilities. By merging into such an entity, a Private Company becomes public.

The Private Company merges into a Public Company and obtains the majority of its stock. The Private Company normally will change the name of the Public Company (often to its own name) and will appoint and elect its management and Board of Directors.

The advantages of public trading status, which are outlined in greater detail below, include the possibility of commanding a higher price for a later offering of the company's securities. Going public through a reverse merger allows a Private Company to go public typically at a lesser cost, is extremely efficient time wise with less stock dilution than through an initial public offering (IPO). While the process of going public and raising capital is combined in an IPO, in a reverse merger these two functions are unbundled; a company can go public without raising additional capital.

Through this unbundling operation, the process of going public is simplified greatly, with cost and timelines significantly reduced.

The Private Company, which has gone public, obtains the benefits of public trading of its securities, namely:

• Increased liquidity of the ownership shares of the company
• Higher share price and thus higher company valuation
• Greater access to the capital markets through the possibilities of a future stock offering
• The ability of the company to make acquisitions of other companies using the company's stock
• The ability to use stock incentive plans to attract and retain key employees
• Going public can be part of a retirement strategy for business owners
• Going public can be part of a strategy to lower the percentage of share ownership by the sale of shares to the public by the current owners thus converting ownership to cash for retirement or other purposes

The benefits of going public through a reverse merger, as opposed to an IPO, are the following:

• The costs are significantly less than the costs required for an initial public offering
• The time required is considerably less than for an IPO
• Additional risk is involved in an IPO in that the IPO may be withdrawn due to an unstable market condition even after most of the up-front costs and considerable management time have been expended
• IPO's generally require greater attention from top management
• While an IPO requires a relatively long and stable earning history, the lack of an earning history will not normally keep a privately-held company from completing a reverse merger
• The company does not require an underwriter
• There is less dilution of ownership control
• You will receive a higher valuation for your company