Re: How do you apply for IPO's?
Another way to increase your chance of an allocation in a spin-off is to buy shares in the original company so you get preference. I did that for NTU, bought a small parcel of POL shares and got the full amount of NTU I applied for. It was the first time I had applied for an IPO, and it was heavily oversubscribed. So the preference arrangement made the difference in my case.
Would agree that it's very hard to get in on startups otherwise, unless you have a broker contact.
Maz
PS I promptly sold my POL shares after NTU listed, and am regretting it now! But NTU did very well for me, so I can't complain too much ...