A Special Delivery Direct From Webvan's Roadshow

Editor's Note: In response to Securities and Exchange Commission concerns, Webvan said it is postponing its initial public offering, originally slated for this week. According to a report in Thursday's editions of The Wall Street Journal, the SEC is worried about Webvan's possible failure to observe quiet-period restrictions in giving pre-IPO interviews to Business Week and Forbes as well as its dissemination during roadshow presentations of information not included in its prospectus. Details of the roadshow were brought to light by this column yesterday, which earned mention in today's Journal. Readers can discuss what's happened on TSC's message boards.

---

Webvan: Join the discussion on TSC Message Boards.

In an age when the individual investor has access to loads of information and ridiculously inexpensive trades, there is one last bastion of exclusion: the so-called roadshow presentation for an initial public offering. Neither press nor populace is welcome at a roadshow meeting, apparently for fear that a prospective issuer will tout its stock to unsophisticated investors, therefore violating Securities and Exchange Commission strictures. These behind-closed-doors meetings are for professional investors only. ...