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Rare pairing of original prospectus booklets printed for the historic IPO (initial public offering) of Apple Computer, Inc., on December 12, 1980. Underwritten by investment banks Morgan Stanley & Co. and Hambrecht & Quist, the final issued prospectus, 47 pages, 8.5 x 10.75, offers 4,600,000 shares of Apple Computer common stock at $22 per share, with the offering summary below reading: “Of the 4,600,000 shares of Common Stock offered hereby, 4,000,000 shares are being sold by the Company and 600,000 outstanding shares are being sold by the Selling Shareholders as set forth under ‘Selling Shareholders.’ The Company will not receive any part of the proceeds from the sale of shares by the Selling Shareholders. Prior to this offering there has been no public market for the Common Stock. See ‘Underwriters’ for a discussion of the factors to be considered in determining the public offering price.” A price and proceeds table below reveals that of the $101,200,000 total price to public ($22), $5,980,000 are paid as ‘Underwriting Discounts and Commissions,’ with $82,800,000 of proceeds received by the company and $12,420,000 of proceeds received by selling shareholders.
The first page features the company mission statement: “Apple Computer, Inc. designs, develops, produces, markets and services microprocessor-based personal computer systems for individual use in solving computing problems commonly encountered in business, education, science, engineering and in the home. Products manufactured and distributed by Apple are sold in the United States and Canada through approximately 800 independent retail computer stores, and internationally through 21 independent distributors which resell to approximately 1,000 retail dealers. Apple's products are primarily serviced in the United States and Canada by approximately 700 of the retail stores and in other countries by independent retail dealers.” The table of contents contains the following sections: Prospectus Summary, The Company, Use of Proceeds, Capitalization, Dividends, Shares Eligible for Future Sale, Dilution, Selected Financial Data, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, Business, Management, Certain Transactions, Certain Shareholders, Selling Shareholders, Description of Securities, Underwriters, Legal Opinions, Experts, Additional Information, and Index to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Included with the final prospectus is a preliminary prospectus prepared by Morgan Stanley & Co. and Hambrecht & Quist and issued on November 6, 1980, 45 pages, 8.5 x 11, which lists the initial offer of 4,500,000 shares of Apple Computer common stock but without a confirmed individual share price. Unlike the final prospectus, the offering summary of the preliminary document notes that “500,000 outstanding shares are being sold by the Selling Shareholders” and that the anticipated IPO “will be in the range of $14 to $17 per share.” In overall fine condition.
By 1980, Apple had achieved remarkable growth and was ready to take the next big step toward expansion. To secure the capital needed for its ambitious plans and offer liquidity to early investors, the company’s board of directors decided to take Apple public. In October of that year, Apple submitted its IPO filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with the underwriting team of Morgan Stanley and Hambrecht & Quist playing key roles in setting the initial stock price and overseeing the share distribution.
On December 12, 1980, Apple made history by officially going public with shares offered at $22 each, a number reflecting the company’s current success and its future potential. The market’s response was extraordinary; by the close of its first trading day, Apple’s stock had surged to $29 per share, a 32% increase that underscored investor enthusiasm and confidence in the company’s vision and leadership. The IPO raised $110 million, provided Apple with the resources to pursue its growth plans, and made instant millionaires of co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
Jobs later reflected: ‘Going public was a very big deal for Apple. It provided us with the resources we needed to invest in research and development, to build out our manufacturing capabilities, and to expand our marketing efforts. It was a crucial step in our journey to become the company we are today.’
