The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed on Friday, Jan. 23, at 8,077.56, DOWN 2.46 percent for the week and DOWN 7.96 percent for the year. The S&P 500 closed at 831.95, DOWN 2.14 percent for the week and DOWN 7.89 percent for the year. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 1,477.29, DOWN 3.4 percent for the week and DOWN 6.32 percent for the year.
A falling stock market has never been a breeding ground for IPOs.
The missing-in-action deal was NIVS IntelliMedia Technology Group (NYSE-ALT: NIV proposed), a China-based manufacturer of audio and video consumer products.
Its banker, WestPark Capital, planned to price 550,000 shares at $3.52 to $4 each on the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 21. The deal was to trade on the NYSE Alternext US (formerly known as the American Stock Exchange).
That didn’t happen.
A February Debut
The NIVS IntelliMedia deal was pushed back to the week of Feb. 9, 2009, joining The O’Gara Group (Nasdaq: OGAR proposed) and Changing World Technologies (NYSE-ALT: CWL proposed), which was added to the calendar last week.
(Readers: Please be advised that IPOScoop.com’s Web site is undergoing updates. IPO names appearing in “The IPO Buzz” stories are hyperlinked to their IPOScoop.com profiles and their proposed trading symbols are hyperlinked to Google Finance. Each Web site provides a lot of information; please check them out.)
New Wrinkle on Recycling
Changing World filed to price 2.75 million shares at $11 to $15 each on Wednesday, Jan. 21. Its investment banker, WR Hambrecht+Co, placed the deal on the IPO calendar to be priced on Tuesday evening, Feb. 10, to trade on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
Changing World Technologies is a West Hempstead, New York-based seller of renewable diesel fuel oil and organic fertilizers, which it is producing from animal and food processing waste using its proprietary Thermal Conversion Process.
There are two things worth noting about Changing World and its offering. They are:
- As of Sept. 30, 2008, Changing World reported an accumulated deficit of $117.8 million. The company was formed in May 1998.
- The deal will be offered through WR Hambrecht’s “OpenIPO” system, or what is commonly known as a Dutch auction.
Calling Special Ops
The O’Gara Group (NASDAQ: OGAR proposed) is the other IPO on the calendar for the week of Feb. 9.
The O’Gara Group is a Cincinnati-based provider of security, safety and defense products and services to commercial, military and government organizations worldwide. Its products include night vision equipment used by Special Operations forces of both the U.S. and foreign military.
The O’Gara Group plans to price 8 million shares at $17 to $19 each to raise $144 million. The IPO is to start trading during the week of Feb. 9, 2009. The sole lead manager is Morgan Keegan.
But more on Changing World and The O’Gara Group later.
In the meantime, we wait for the stock market to show signs of stabilization so the IPO calendar will materialize.