The IPO process involves several entities, such as the issuing company, institutional investors, brokers, lawyers, regulators, retail investors, and an intermediary company. Consider the following IPO deal: By 1969, Wal-Mart's founder, Sam Walton, had created a chain of Wal-Mart stores. The company's annual sales were around $31 million. To reach this point, the company had taken on a lot of debt. Walton realized that if he wanted the company to grow further, it would need to raise funds and pay off its debt. Thus, Sam Walton and his son, S. Robson Walton, decided to raise money by selling their stock to the public. In 1970, they raised $4.5 million through an initial public offering. Arkansas-based Stephens Inc. and Boston-based White Weld handled the IPO. As the company grew, the Waltons set up Walton Enterprises, which owns shares of the company. Identify one of the underwriters in the IPO deal described above. White Weld Walton Enterprises The underwriter in the IPO process has several responsibilities True or False: The underwriter is likely to promote the shares by distributing analyst reports on the stock to its associate brokerage house. False True