• IPO
  • Capital Pool Company (CPC) Programs

Going public via a Capital Pool Company (CPC) qualifying transaction is currently the most common way for companies in Canada to enter the public market.

What is a CPC?

A CPC is a shell company that is set up to raise capital, with the purpose of joining with an existing private company to go public through a process called a qualifying transaction.

An attractive alternative to the traditional IPO

CPCs have similar objectives to traditional IPOs in that they both want the advantages of Canadian capital markets. CPCs offer an attractive alternative to the traditional IPO process in that the rules and regulations surrounding CPCs and qualifying transactions are less rigid, making the overall process more straightforward.

How it works

The qualifying transaction consists of the CPC being acquired by a private company, in essence graduating from a shell company to a company that now has capital and commercial operations attached to it. Once the transaction is complete, the newly formed public company is listed on Canada’s TSX Venture Exchange.

The road to reaching a qualifying transaction can occur either by a private company locating a CPC for acquisition, or the CPC locating a suitable private company. Whether you are the CPC or the private company, once both parties have been identified, the next step should be enlisting a service provider to oversee the qualifying transaction.


Sign up for Computershare’s webinar with Canadian Lawyer, featuring guests from BLG and TSX Venture Exchange

Understanding Capital Pool Companies and emerging trends

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Computershare’s CPC transaction and ongoing services — a one stop shop solution

When you engage Computershare to manage your CPC transaction, we get straight to work, outlining responsibilities, tasks and goals for all involved stakeholders, helping ensure everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Completing this transaction is just the beginning stage of life as a public company. Computershare provides many of the services public companies need from day one, and ongoing services for continued growth and success. Our full-service delivery model includes:


CPC/IPO Launch

Pre-IPO Activities

  • Computershare IPO onboarding portal
  • Dedicated client care team
  • Transfer agent and escrow agent selection
  • Coordination of appointment closing documentation
  • Issuance of common and escrow shares

Business Combination / Qualifying Transaction

Skilled, Dedicated Support

  • Executive management
  • Dedicated relationship manager
  • Subject matter experts to assist with:
    • Onboarding
    • Shareholder inquiries/transactions
    • Treasury
    • Reporting
    • Audit
    • Escrow

Growth & Management – Newly Listed Issuer

  • Ongoing transfer agency services
  • Corporate governance support
  • Equity plan administration
  • Entity compliance services
  • Board management tools
  • Unclaimed property management
  • Warrant agent services
  • Ongoing annual meeting services






Why choose Computershare for your CPC qualifying transaction?

  • ​With offices in each major region of Canada, you’ll have direct access to resources in your area. We have more than 700 employees throughout our offices in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Calgary dedicated to grow with you as an organization. With Computershare as your partner, the support you need is always just a phone call or visit away. 

  • ​Along with the benefit of working with a partner that can provide regional support, is working with a partner with a global footprint. Computershare’s worldwide network of offices and operations provides us with unique insights from around the world and knowledge capital in nearly every major financial market. We have over 14,000 employees in 21 countries, and 5 continents where we integrate best practices and innovative developments to strengthen our competitive advantage for our clients. The advantage of our global footprint includes the economies of scale to maintain robust compliance, audit, risk, anti-fraud, disaster recovery and business continuity planning programs – offering peace of mind to our clients and their stakeholders.  

  • Computershare continuously looks for ways to improve process and experience. Our IPO onboarding portal is a tool built with collaboration in mind, bringing new issuers and their advisors together to collaborate in a secure environment. IPO documents and data can be shared securely; stakeholders can collaborate on tasks simultaneously; deadlines, reminders and alerts can be set; and progress can be tracked, to ensure goals are met. 

    Computershare’s proprietary recordkeeping systems and other software used for ongoing administration are supported by our technology division of 1,000+ people worldwide. You will have real-time access to all your registry data in Computershare’s Issuer Online platform, and your investors will enjoy the simple, intuitive navigation and industry leading functionality of our Investor Centre site to manage their investor portfolio online. You’ll also be able to offer your shareholders an ecosystem of modern communication channels such as online chat, traditional web, Interactive Voice Response system and live customer service channels.

  • Our services scale to meet the changing needs of companies over time. We provide all core registry related services such as transfer agency recordkeeping and annual meeting services – and services companies need as they grow – M&A corporate event processing, entity management, corporate governance services, equity plan administration. With one partner that can handle it all, there’s no need to juggle multiple vendor relationships.


  • ​Each CPC transaction is assigned a relationship manager (RM) as point person who is supported by a care team, working hard behind the scenes on your transaction. Your RM and care team are skilled at addressing the unique needs of emerging issuers and will continue to support your account once your transaction is complete and moves into day-to-day operations. This continuity provides you with access to professionals that know your company’s culture and business and are focused on your ongoing success from the start.

Our expert team

Each IPO we oversee is assigned a dedicated, expert IPO service team. With experience supporting hundreds of IPOs, our team has the knowledge and expertise to make every IPO a success. Each of our clients is also assigned a relationship manager at the start of the IPO, to build client knowledge and history, and provide further support along the way. Relationship managers are assigned in part based on geographic location, providing an optimum level of ongoing local support.

  • Mike Tuff

    Mike Tuff

    VP Law Firm, Business Development

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  • Beverly Sklar

    Beverly Sklar

    Vice President, Western Canada

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  • Tara Israelson

    Tara Israelson

    General Manager, Registry Services – Enterprise Issuers

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  • David Cavasin

    David Cavasin

    General Manager, Registry Services – Emerging Issuers

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The advantages of Capital Pool Companies during periods of market uncertainty

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