The IPO Buzz: Protecting the IPO Cloud

Let’s jump to this week’s IPO calendar. It lists four names, three new faces and a carryover from last week. They are looking to raise over $3.1 billion, counting the foreign ADS.
 
In the Clouds
The cloud computer IPOs have been among this year’s top performers (see IPOScoop.com’s 2012 Pricings) and the facts speak for themselves:
  • Guidewire Software (GWRE) priced its IPO of 8.9 million shares at $13 each on Jan. 24, 2012. The IPO  started trading at $23.75 per share and closed on Friday, Sept. 21, at $31.34 – UP 141.1 percent from its initial offering price.
  • ServiceNow (NOW) priced its IPO of 11.7 million shares at $18 each on June 28. The IPO started trading at $16.75 per share and closed on Friday, Sept. 21, at $39.63 – UP 120.2 percent from its initial offering price.
  • Splunk (SPLK) priced its IPO of 13.5 million shares at $17 each on April 19. The IPO started trading at $32 per share and closed on Friday, Sept. 21, at $37.14 – UP 118.4 percent from its initial offering price.
Now bring on this week’s cloud offering.
 
Qualys plans to price 7.6 million shares at $11 to $13 each on Thursday evening. The IPO is expected to start trading on Friday morning on the NASDAQ Global Market under the proposed symbol “QLYS.” The joint-lead managers are J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse. The co-managers are RBC Capital Markets, Pacific Crest Securities, Baird, JMP Securities, Lazard Capital Markets and First Analysis Securities.
 
Based in Redwood City, California, Qualys provides cloud security and compliance solutions that let its users identify security risks to their IT infrastructures. The company was formed in 1999. It has about 334 employees.
 
Qualys plans to sell 6.7 million shares and selling shareholders plan to sell 875,000 shares. The company expects to have about 30.1 million shares outstanding after the offering.
 
High-Yield Energy Plays
Limited partnerships (LP) IPOs with their high yields have attracted interest of late. Let’s take a look at the recent traffic:
  • Susser Petroleum Partners LP (SUSP) priced its IPO of 9.5 million common units at $20.50 each on Sept. 19. The IPO started trading at $23.08 and closed on Friday at $23.08 – UP 12.6 percent from its initial offering price. The LP plans to make annual cash distributions of $1.75 per common unit to yield 8.54 percent, based on its initial offering price.
  • EQT Midstream Partners, LP (EQM) priced its IPO of 12.5 million common units at $21 each on June 26. The IPO started trading at $23 and closed on Friday, Sept. 21, at $29.85 – UP 42.1 percent from its initial offering price. The LP plans to make a minimum cash distribution of a $1.40 per common unit annually to yield 6.67 percent, based on its initial offering price.
  • Northern Tier Energy (NTI) priced its IPO of 16.3 million common units at $14 each on July 25. The IPO started trading at $13.66 and closed on Friday, Sept. 21, at $19.85 – UP 41.8 percent from its initial offering price. The LP has not declared its dividend payment plans.
Now let’s take a look at this week’s high-yield limited partnership in the energy sector.
 
Summit Midstream Partners, LP  plans to price 12.5 million common units at $19 to $21 each on Thursday evening. The IPO is expected to start trading on Friday morning on the New York Stock Exchange under the proposed symbol “SMLP.” The joint-lead managers are Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The co-managers are BMO Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank Securities, RBC Capital Markets, Baird and Janney Montgomery Scott.
 
Based in Dallas, Summit Midstream Partners is a growth-oriented limited partnership providing natural gas gathering from unconventional resource basins, mostly shale formations, in Texas and Colorado.  The company was formed in 2009.
 
Summit Partners plans to sell all of the shares in the offering. It expects to have about 24.4 million common units outstanding after the offering.
 
Summit Partners plans to pay an annual cash distribution of $1.60 per common unit to yield 8 percent, based upon the mid-point of its price range.
 
Banking over the Border
This brings us to the Mexican bank and its public offering.
 
Grupo Financiero Santander Mexico, S.A.B. de C.V., or Santander, for short, plans to price 235.1 million ADS representing 1,175.5 million Series B shares at US$10.99 to US$12.70 per ADS (Ps29 to Ps33.50) on Tuesday evening. The public offering is expected to start trading on Wednesday morning on the New York Stock Exchange under the proposed symbol “BSMX.” The joint-lead managers are Santander, UBS Investment Bank, Deutsche Bank Securities and BofA Merrill Lynch. The co-managers are Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and RBC Capital Markets.
 
Note: Santander’s Series B shares have been traded on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the symbol “SANMEXB” since Dec. 11, 1991, according to available records; the shares closed on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012, at Ps34.20.
 
Santander believes it is the second-largest financial services holding company in Mexico, based on net income, and the fourth-largest financial services holding company in Mexico, based on total assets, loans and deposits. The bank was formed in 1932. It has about 12,460 employees.
 
Wrapping up this week’s IPO calendar is last week’s carryover – GlobeImmune (GBIM – proposed).
 
Stay tuned.
 
 
Disclosure: Neither the author nor anyone else on the IPOScoop.com staff has a position in any stocks mentioned, nor do they trade or invest in IPOs. The author and IPOScoop.com staff do not issue advice, recommendations or opinions.