By John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr.

Since the start of the year, tech IPOs have been making news.

The first two companies to file plans to go public this year were from the technology sector: MetroPCS Communications and GSI Technology.

GSI Technology.

The timing of the MetroPCS filing was good. It came within a week of Apple’s long-awaited unveiling of the iPhone at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. This could be a sign that 2007 may be the year when cell phone service and hardware became much easier to use—and a lot cooler.

Las Vegas

The business of GSI Technology, on the other hand, is about providing speedy and energy-efficient memory products for computer networking and telecommunications equipment. This will be GSI Technology’s second attempt to go public.

Let’s take a look at the details of both deals:

—MetroPCS Communications kicked off the year with a blockbuster filing of $1.125 billion on January 4.

The Dallas-based company is a cell phone service provider on a no-long-term contract, flat-rate, unlimited usage basis in selected major metropolitan markets in the United States.

Formed in 2002, MetroPCS has about 1,860 employees.

For the nine months ending September 30, 2006, MetroPCS reported net income of $52.1 million on total revenues of $1.1 billion, compared with net income of $163.5 million on total revenues of $750 million for the same period a year ago.

The underwriters are Bear Stearns, Banc of America Securities LLC, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

Banc of America Securities LLC, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

Selected principal shareholders are Accel Partners, First Plaza Group Trust, M/C Venture Partners, Madison Dearborn Capital Partners, and TA Associates.

—GSI Technology filed for an IPO to raise $57.5 million on January 10.

The Santa Clara, California-based company is a provider of “very fast” static random access memory, or SRAM, products that are used in high-performance networking and telecommunications equipment, such as routers, switches, wide area network infrastructure equipment, wireless base stations and network access equipment.

GSI serves the needs of the military, industrial, test equipment and medical markets for high-performance SRAMs.Formed in 1995, GSI has about 100 employees.

For the six months ending September 30, 2006, GSI Technology reported net income of $4.5 million on net revenues of $28.9 million, compared with net income of $2.2 million on net revenues of $21.6 million for the same period a year ago.

GSI Technology

The underwriters are Needham, WR Hambrecht+Partners, Robert W. Baird, and Stanford Group.

Robert W. Baird, and Stanford Group.

Selected principal shareholders are Ameroc, HolyStone Enterprises, Koowin, and WestTech Electronics.

For GSI, this will be the second time around the IPO block. On April 13, 2004, GSI filed for an IPO to raise $103.5 million. Its underwriters were Merrill Lynch, Needham, Friedman Billings Ramsey, and C.E. Unterberg Towbin. On November 10, 2005, the deal was withdrawn. Its joint-lead manager is now Needham.

Needham

If anyone noticed a slight breeze last week at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s filing window, that’s because there was some more action.

Strolling Toward the IPO Calendar

Two more technology companies posted proposed offering terms last week, but no pricing dates had been set at press time. They were National CineMedia and Xtent. Details:

Xtent

—National CineMedia, of Centennial, Colorado, believes it operates the largest digital in-theater network in North America, allowing the company to distribute advertising and other content for its advertising, meetings, and events businesses using its proprietary digital content network.

The company filed on January 11 to price 38 million shares at $18 to $20 each to raise $722 million.

Organized in 2006, National CineMedia has about 447 employees.

National CineMedia

The underwriters are Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, AGM Securities, Allen & Company, Banc of America Securities, Bear Stearns, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Securities, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and UBS Investment Bank.

AGM Securities, Allen & Company, Banc of America Securities, Bear Stearns, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Securities, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and UBS Investment Bank.

Selected principal shareholders are AmericanMulti-Cinema, Cinemark Media, Madison Dearborn Capital Partners, Regal CineMedia Holdings, and The Anschutz Co.

—Xtent, of Menlo Park, California, is a development-stage medical device company working on innovative customizable drug-eluting stent systems to treat coronary artery disease. Xtent filed on January 11 to price 4.7 million shares at $16 to $185 each to raise $79.9 million.

Menlo Park, California

Formed in 2002, Xtent has about 100 employees.

Xtent had never generated any revenues. As of September 30, 2006, Xtent reported an accumulated deficit of $60 million.

The underwriters are Piper Jaffray, Cowen, Lazard Capital Markets, and RBC Capital Markets.

Cowen, Lazard Capital Markets, and RBC Capital Markets.

Selected principal shareholders are Morgenthaler Partners, Advanced Technology Ventures,Latterell Venture Partners, and St. Paul Venture Capital.

Inside This Week’s IPO Calendar

This week’s new-issues calendar lists two deals. Here’s the industrial sector breakdown:

An oil and natural gas investment trust (MV Oil Trust)

A medical device company (Oculus Innovative Sciences)

The bankers expect to raise $181.5 million.

Company Profiles

—MV Oil Trust, based in Wichita, Kansas, was formed in August 2006, by MV Partners. Immediately before the closing of this offering, MV Partners will convey a term net profits interest to the trust that represents the right to receive 80 percent of the net proceeds from all of MV Partners’ interests in oil and natural gas properties in the trust.

MV Oil Trust plans to price 7.5 million trust units at $19 to $21 each to raise $150 million. The IPO is to start trading on Friday, January 19, 2007.

Underwriters: Raymond James & Associates is the lead manager. Acting as co-managers are A.G. Edwards, RBC Capital Markets, and Oppenheimer.

lead manager. Acting as co-managers are A.G. Edwards, RBC Capital Markets, and Oppenheimer.

52-Week Percentage Change:

Dow Jones U.S. Exploration & Production Index: down 8.28 percent

U.S.

Nasdaq Composite Index: up 6.58 percent

—Oculus Innovative Sciences is a Petaluma, California-based pharmaceutical company that has developed products intended to help prevent and treat infections in chronic and acute wounds. The company’s main technology, Microcyn, is a non-toxic, electronically charged, super-oxidized, water-based solution designed to treat a wide range of organisms that cause disease.

Oculus Innovative Sciences plans to price 3.5 million shares at $8 to $10 each to raise $31.5 million. The deal has been reduced from 3.1 million shares at $12 to $14 each to raise $40 million on January 3. The IPO is to start trading during the week of January 15.

As of September 9, 2006, Oculus Innovative Sciences reported an accumulated deficit of $59.3 million.

Oculus Innovative Sciences

Formed in 1999, Oculus Innovative Sciences has about 76 employees.

Oculus Innovative Sciences

Underwriters: Roth Capital is the lead manager. Acting as co-managers are Maxim Group and Brookstreet Securities.

lead manager. Acting as co-managers are Maxim Group and Brookstreet Securities.

Selected Principal Shareholder: Brookstreet Securities

52-Week Percentage Change:

Dow Jones U.S. Medical Equipment Index: down 2.12 percent

U.S.Nasdaq Composite Index: up 6.58 percent