By John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr.
Now would be a good time for IPO players to skip out of town for a winter vacation. The only deal on the calendar this week is a “blank check” offering and the following week doesn’t show much more. There’s another “blank check” deal and two small biopharmaceuticals.
But don’t be so fast as to write off the new-issues market. It’s only a seasonal lull, and the future started building in mid-February.
This year’s IPO market is following the same path that it has in over the recent past. Consider this:
In 2006, bankers had priced 37 IPOs by February 15, according to available reports. Three more IPOs were priced by the end of February. In 2006, bankers priced a total of 240 IPOs for the entire year.
In 2005, bankers had priced 38 IPOs by February 17. One more IPO was priced by the end of February. In 2005, bankers priced a total of 236 IPOs.
In 2004, bankers had priced 23 IPOs by February 13. Three more IPOs were priced by the end of February. In 2004, bankers priced a total of 248 IPOs.
And this year, 2007, bankers have priced 37 IPOs by February 15. There are four more IPOs on the forward IPO calendar.
A Little Groundwork
In the meantime, bankers were seeding the IPO vineyard last week.
During the week of February 12, 16 companies filed plans to go public. That was almost as many new filings that had been done during this year’s first six weeks. By the close of business on Friday, February 9, a total of 19 companies had filed to go public.
The largest of last week’s 16 IPOs was Solera Holdings, a San Ramon, California-basedprovider of software and services to the automobile insurance claims processing industry. Here are the offering’s details:
—Solera filed for an IPO to raise $460 million on February 12. For the three months ending September 30, the company reported a net loss of $17.9 million on total revenues of $111.5 million.
filed for an IPO to raise $460 million on February 12.
Formed in 1966, Solera Holdings has about 2,136 employees. The underwriters are Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and Lehman Brothers. A selected principal shareholder is GTCR Funds.
Solera HoldingsGTCR Funds.
But there were many more IPOs. And among the more interesting filings: Cavium Networks, a Mountain View, California-based provider of integrated semiconductor processors that enable intelligent networking, communications, and security applications, and ShoreTel, a Sunnyvale, California-based provider of IP telecommunications systems that enable multi-site enterprises to be served by a single telecommunications system. Here are the details on each.
—Cavium Networks filed for an IPO to raise $86.3 million on February 13. For the year ending December 31, 2006, the company reported a net loss of $9 million on total revenues of $34.2 million, compared with a net loss of $11.7 million on total revenues of $19.4 million for the same period a year ago.
Formed in 2000, Cavium Networkshas about 157 employees. The underwriters are Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, Thomas Weisel Partners, Needham, and JMP Securities. The selected principal shareholders are Menlo Ventures, Alliance Ventures, Diamondhead Ventures, and NeoCarta.
Needhamelected principal shareholders are
—ShoreTel filed for an IPO to raise $85 million on February 12. For the three months ending September 30, the company reported net income of $1 million on total revenues of $20.4 million, compared with net income of $103,000 on total revenues of $11.2 million for the same period a year ago.
Formed in 1996, ShoreTel has about 223 employees. The underwriters are Lehman Brothers, JPMorgan, Piper Jaffray, JMP Securities, and Wedbush Morgan. The selected principal shareholders are Crosspoint Venture Partners, Foundation Capital, J.P. Morgan Direct Venture Capital, and Lehman Brothers Venture Partners.
Piper Jaffray, JMP Securities, and Wedbush Morgan. The
One to Watch
And what’s an IPO Watch without mentioning a deal that is on somebody’s “Most Wanted” list? That one was filed the previous week.
It is TechTarget, a Needham, Massachusetts-based provider of specialized online content that brings together buyers and sellers of corporate information technology products. The company operates a network of about 35 web sites, each of which focuses on a specific IT sector, such as storage, security, or networking.
TechTargetprovider of specialized online content that brings together buyers and sellers of corporate information technology products. The company operates a network of about 35 web sites, each of which focuses on a specific IT sector, such as storage, security, or networking.
—TechTarget filed for an IPO to raise $75 million on February 7. For the nine months ending September 30, TechTarget reported operating income of $7.9 million on revenues of $55.9 million, compared with operating income of $4.7 million on total revenues of $48.5 million for the same period a year ago.
TechTarget
Formed in 1999, TechTarget has about 457 employees. The underwriters are Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers, Cowen, and Piper Jaffray. The selected principal shareholders are Technology Crossover Ventures and Polaris Venture Partners.
TechTargetelected principal shareholders are
Inside This Week’s IPO Calendar
This week’s IPO calendar lists one deal. It is a “blank check” company (Symmetry Holdings). It is expected to raise $150 million.
Company Profile
--Symmetry Holdings, of Briarcliff Manor, New York, is a “blank check” company recently formed for the purpose of acquiring through a merger, capital stock exchange, stock purchase, asset acquisition, or other similar business combination, businesses in North America that are in or are suppliers to the basic industries sector, including energy and energy-related infrastructure.
The company plans to price 18.8 million units consisting of one share of common stock and one warrant at $6 each. The units are expected to trade during the week of February 19. The underwriters are CIBC World Markets, Sunrise Securities, FTN Midwest Securities, and GunnAllen Financial.