Strange IPO Filing: Specialty Metals Group Indium Corp. (IND.U, IND)

Specialty Metals Group Indium Corp. has filed to come public via an initial public offering.  This is technically not a SPAC and technically not an ETF and technically not a tracking stock, but Specialty Metals Group Indium Corp. was formed to purchase and stockpile the metal indium and its strategy is to realize appreciation in the value of its indium stockpile.  It says it will not actively speculate with regard to short-term fluctuations in indium prices.  It will physically store indium in facilities located in the United States, Canada, and/or the United Kingdom, and it also obtained insurance in acceptable amounts to protect from loss or theft.

Indium is an essential raw material for a number of consumer electronics applications. The primary commercial application of indium is in coatings for the flat panel display industry and in the Liquid Crystal Display industry on electronic devices such as television sets, computers, cell phones and digital cameras. Indium is also increasingly being used as a crucial raw material in the solar energy industry where it is mainly used for high-efficiency photovoltaic cells in the form of thin-film photovoltaic. Other uses of Indium are in electrical components, alloys and solders.

It’s obvious that the company believes Indium supplies are about to get more scarce or that supplies are at least going to remain tight.  This will trade under the ticker "IND.U" on AMEX and Maxim Group is the sole underwriter for this one.  The company is selling 11 million units with a proposed $5.00 IPO price for each unit, and each unit will consist of one share and one warrant with an exercise of $6.00.

The company was just formed January 7, 2008 as a Delaware entity with offices located in Princeton, New Jersey.

Jon C. Ogg
February 27, 2008