The calendar consists of a century-old, brand-name company; a provider of security and defense products; a maker of renewable diesel fuel and fertilizers, and rounding out the list are a real estate investment trust, or REIT, and a small-cap deal looking to raise nearly $2 million.
The Brand Name
Mead Johnson (IPOScoop.com profile) (NYSE: MJN proposed) (news, financials and related companies) is planning to offer 25 million shares at $21 to $24 each to raise $562.5 million. The deal is expected to be priced Tuesday evening, Feb. 10, and to trade Wednesday morning.
Mead Johnson, formed in 1905, has been a providing infant food products since 1911. Today it’s better known for the baby formula Enfamil, which accounted for almost 60 percent of the company’s $2.2 billion sales for the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, according to its preliminary prospectus.
Fifth years ago, Mead Johnson wasn’t all about Enfamil. In 1959, the company introduced a nonprescription, liquid diet beverage called Metrocal. The product’s sales took off and so did Mead Johnson’s stock, then-listed on the American Stock Exchange trading under the symbol “MJ.” The stock soared to well over $125 in wild, volatile trading, but as the craze for Metrocal matured, so did its shares. In 1967, MJ became a wholly owned subsidiary of Bristol Meyers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) (quote, news, charts and related companies).
Grab Your Night Goggles
The O’Gara Group (IPOScoop.com profile) (Nasdaq: OGAR proposed) (news, financials and related companies) is planning to offer 8 million shares at $17 to $19 each to raise $144 million. The deal is expected to be priced Tuesday evening, Feb. 10, and to trade Wednesday morning.
The Cincinnati-based company is a provider of security and defense products, such as night-vision equipment.
Green Fuel and Fertilizers
Changing World Technologies (IPOScoop.com profile)(NYSE Alternext: CWL proposed) (news, financials and related companies) is planning to offer 2.75 million shares at $11 to $15 each to raise $35.8 million. The deal is expected to be priced Tuesday evening, Feb. 10, and to trade Wednesday morning.
Changing World is a provider of renewable diesel fuel and organic fertilizers. The company is going public through a “Dutch auction” procedure using WR Hambrecht’s OpenIPO distribution system.
With a few dollars, a dream and the right bid, any qualified investor can get in on the IPO at its offering price.
The Calendar and the Nasdaq
Let’s flip back to a period in time when there was more than a single deal on the IPO calendar. The last multi-deal calendar was for the week of Aug. 4, 2008. It listed three IPOs. Two got out the door and both tanked in the aftermarket. They were:
- China Mass Media International Advertising (NYSE: CMM) (Quote, news, charts and related companies) priced 7.2 million shares at $6.80 each and closed its opening day at $6.50 per share, DOWN 4.4 percent from its initial offering price. China Mass closed on Friday Feb. 6, 2009, at $2.15, DOWN 68.4 percent from its initial offering price.
- Rackspace Holdings (NYSE: RAX) (Quote, news, charts and related companies) priced 15 million shares at $12.50 each and closed its opening day at $10.01 per share, DOWN 19.9 percent from its offering price. Rackspace closed on Friday Feb. 6, at $4.85, DOWN 61.2 percent from its initial offering price.
Back on Friday, Aug. 1, 2008, the Nasdaq Composite Index, the barometer of the IPO market, closed at 2,310.96. A little over three-and-a-half months later, the Nasdaq had taken a hard hit. On Nov. 20, it closed at 1,316.12, DOWN 43 percent from Aug. 1st. Only three IPOs have been priced since then.
Nevertheless, it’s entirely possible that there is a new world greeting 2009’s first IPO calendar.
The Nasdaq Composite closed on Friday, Feb. 6, at 1,591.71, UP 20.9 percent from its previous closing low in November. Some might even say the Nasdaq is back in a bull market.
At Friday’s close, the Nasdaq ranked in the plus column for the year – UP 0.93 percent from its close at 1,577.03 on Dec. 31, 2008.