Category Archives: The IPO Buzz

By: John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr.

While Washington has been working overtime to bail out Wall Street from its binge on mortgage debt, some people in the IPO market have come up with a novel way to play “cover your Fannie.” In this case, a new real estate investment trust, or REIT, plans to go public this week and use the proceeds to invest in mortgage securities backed by Fannie Mae, the largest U.S. buyer of home loans, or its slightly smaller rival, Freddie Mac, or their lower profile “cousin,” Ginnie Mae.

By: John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr.

Watching the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing window can be interesting. Since late March, 19 companies have filed plans to go public, five have priced their IPOs and five have withdrawn their deals. Those numbers signal a positive climate. And during that time, Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) has come up with a pair of firsts for itself.

 

By: John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr.

Last week’s traffic underscored the fact that we have a market for IPOs, not an IPO market. And that’s not all that bad. Wall Street has always been subject to change. The new-issues market has been known to give early warning signals when it’s coming back to life.

 

By: John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr.

As the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse thunder through the Valley of IPOs this week, they’ll be joined by another noteworthy steed. This one does not bring conquest, war, famine and death. It brings life. It is Intrepid Potash (NYSE: IPI proposed) and it comes from the hot potash industrial sector.

 

By: John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr.

During the dog days of a stock market pullback, size counts when it comes to pricing IPOs. This year’s first quarter for IPOs boiled down to one word — Visa (NYSE:V), a $17.9 billion blockbuster. This year’s second quarter for IPOs has yet to start, but when it does, there is another billion-dollar IPO on the calendar – American Water Works (NYSE: AWK proposed). It is looking to raise $1.6 billion.

By: John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr.

Will Rogers once said, “All I know is what I read in the papers.” But don’t believe everything you read from the financial media’s online news services. In early March, they were running gloom-and-doom headlines that a total of 61 global IPOs had been withdrawn in 2008. No mention was made of filings.

By: John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr.

Yes, Virginia, there is life on Wall Street’s syndicate desks. It’s not in the form of IPOs, but in secondary offerings. And these creatures are far different than the IPOs we all know and love.

By: John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr.

 

Visa’s $17.9 billion blockbuster IPO was the talk of the town last week – no surprises there. But this is Wall Street where you’re only as good as your last trade. The next question is: “What do you have for us now?”

By: John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr.

 

Visa’s IPO will debut on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning, March 19 — a day ahead of schedule. Its original launch date was Thursday, March 20. That tells you all you need to know about the deal.

By: John E. Fitzgibbon, Jr.

The SPACs, which are special purpose acquisition companies or blank checks, have been the only IPO game in town this year. Eleven of this year’s 20 IPOs have been SPACs, but the traffic has dried up lately. Many are trading below their initial offering prices, but there could be gold in some of those SPACs.