Method and system for requesting a reservation for a set of equity instruments to be offered

• US 7,693,779 B2
• Filed: 01/12/2007
• Issued: 04/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Barry Forman
• Original Assignee: URSO Limited
• Inventors: Avery, N. Caleb
• Primary Examiner(s): Poinvil; Frantzy
• Assistant Examiner(s): GRAHAM, CLEMENT B
• Application Number:
  US11/652,761
• Publication Number:
  US 20070118463A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,180 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 38, 705/34
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/00 Commerce
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/08 Auctions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/03 Credit; Loans; Processing thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

A method and system for the determination of optimal pricing and allocation of securities in an open, competitive environment. The method and system may also be used in developing pre-markets of other items that are difficult to price and allocate in a competitive manner, such as the underwriting/securitization of contracts for property; future revenue/earning streams from an asset and/or group of assets; underwritten insurance portfolios, intellectual property and other goods and services. The system of price optimization and allocation is accomplished by interactive feedback of information using a display and including competitive participation of individual members of the public (and/or their agents) or institutional buyers over a data network e.g., the Internet, uncovering the nature and identification of demand in a self-organizing fashion. Demand emerges through participants'"'"' interaction with the system and with each other, via a graphically-supported, interactive reservation process. Multiple types of units (e.g., maturities of a term series bond offering) may be sold in one offering.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for requesting one or more reservations for a set of equity instruments to be offered by an issuer for later sale comprising the steps of:

(a) transmitting, from one or more processors which are operatively connected to one or more communication devices, a first set of one or more signals to request information from one or more servers relating to a equity offering, wherein the equity offering comprises a plurality of units of one or more types at one or more prices that are available for reservation, wherein

(i) each of the units of the equity offering is intended to be offered as an equity instrument for later sale to potential equity purchasers, and

(ii) for at least one of the types at at least one of the prices, a plurality of units is available for reservation;

(b) receiving, at the one or more processors via the one or more communication devices, a second set of one or more signals sent from the one or more servers at a first time that identify the status of the plurality of units of the equity offering, wherein the status comprises an identification of;

(i) units of the equity offering for each type at each price that are available for reservation as of the first time, including the type, price, and number of units available for reservation, and

(ii) one or more sets of units of the equity offering that have been reserved as of the first time, including the type, price, and number of units that have been reserved;

(c) transmitting, from the one or more processors via the one or more communication devices, a third set of one or more signals to the one or more servers that indicate a request to reserve a first group of one or more of the units of the equity offering; and

(d) receiving at the one or more processors via the one or more communication devices, a fourth set of one or more signals sent from the one or more servers at a second time that identify;

(i) units within the plurality units of the equity offering that are yet available for request for reservation as of the second time, including the type, price, and number of units available, and

(ii) one or more sets of units of the equity offering that have been reserved, including the type, price, and number of units reserved as of the second time, wherein the one or more sets of units that have been reserved include at least a first set of units within the first group that were available for reservation.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving at the one or more processors via the communication device, a fifth set of one or more signals sent from the one or more servers at a third time that identify:

(i) units within the plurality units of the equity offering that are yet still available for request for reservation as of the third time, including the type, price, and number of units available, and

(ii) the one or more sets of units that have been reserved, including the type, price, and number of units reserved as of the third time, wherein the one or more sets of units that have been reserved include at least the first set of units within the first group, and a second set of units.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a threshold price for requests for reservations is set.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of units of a particular type of the equity instrument offering available at a particular price is limited to less units than the total number of units of the equity instrument offering.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more types comprise options on equity instruments.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more types comprise warrants on equity instruments.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more types comprise a restricted set of equity instruments.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the one or more types of restricted set of equity instruments comprise overallotments of equity instruments.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the equity instruments, when offered for later sale, comprise international equity instruments.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the equity instruments, when offered for later sale, comprise secondary offering equity instruments.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the equity instruments, when offered for later sale, comprise shelf-offering equity instruments.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the equity instruments, when offered for later sale, comprise convertible equity instruments.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more types comprise equity instruments available for reservation by a predetermined investor class.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the predetermined investor class comprises one or more institutional investors.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the predetermined investor class comprises one or more retail investors.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the predetermined investor class comprises one or more investors with access to a restricted set of equity instruments.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the equity instruments for the predetermined investor class have a predetermined price.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein the number of units of equity instruments for the predetermined investor class is fixed.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the equity instruments for the predetermined investor class have one or more prices calculated based on the prices of other reservations outside the predetermined investor class.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of units comprises all of the units of the first group.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of units comprises less than all of the units of the first group.

22. A computer system for requesting one or more reservations for a set of equity instruments to be offered by an issuer for later sale comprising:

one or more communications devices;

one or more processors operatively connected to the one or more communication devices; and

one or more computer readable media operatively connected to the one or more processors and having stored thereon computer instructions for carrying out the steps of;

(a) transmitting, from the one or more processors via the one or more communication devices, a first set of one or more signals to request information from one or more servers relating to a equity offering, wherein the equity offering comprises a plurality of units of one or more types at one or more prices that are available for reservation, wherein

(i) each of the units of the equity offering is intended to be offered as an equity instrument for later sale to potential equity purchasers, and

(ii) for at least one of the types at at least one of the prices, a plurality of units is available for reservation;

(b) receiving, at the one or more processors via the one or more communication devices, a second set of one or more signals sent from the one or more servers at a first time that identifies the status of the plurality of units of the equity offering, wherein the status comprises an identification of;

(i) units of the equity offering for each type at each price that are available for reservation as of the first time, including the type, price and number of units available for reservation, and

(ii) one or more sets of units of the equity offering that have been reserved as of the first time, including the type, price and number of units that have been reserved;

(c) transmitting, from the one or more processors via the one or more communication devices, a third set of one or more signals to the one or more servers that indicate a request to reserve a first group of one or more of the units of the equity offering; and

(d) receiving at the one or more processors via the one or more communication devices, a fourth set of one or more signals sent from the one or more servers at a second time that identifies;

(i) units within the plurality units of the equity offering that are yet available for request for reservation as of the second time, including the type, price and number of units available, and

(ii) one or more sets of units of the equity offering that have been reserved, including the type, price and number of units reserved as of the second time, wherein the one or more sets of units that have been reserved include at least a first set of units within the first group that were available for reservation.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the instructions are stored on the one or more computer readable media as data received via the one or more communication devices.