Rosetta Stone IPO Has Arrived, And Then Some (RST)

Rosetta Stone Inc. (NYSE: RST) has priced its initial public offering of 6.25 million shares of common stock at $18.00 per share.  Of the offering, Rosetta Stone is selling 3.125 million shares of common stock and its selling stockholders are also selling 3.125 million shares in this offering.  What is interesting here is that Rosetta Stone’s pricing is actually better than what many were expecting.

Morgan Stanley and William Blair are the joint book-running managers; and co-managers are listed as Jefferies & Company, Piper Jaffray & Co. and Robert W. Baird & Co.  The underwriting group also has a 30-day over-allotment option to purchase up to an additional 937,500 shares from the selling stockholders.

Earlier this month we saw a price range indication of $15.00 to $17.00 per share.   We have early whisper indications for a premium open to a premium pricing.

The company will have an implied market capitalization of roughly $400 million based upon the pricing, but that will adjust with the share price throughout the day.

Rosetta Stone is the leader in software-based language learning under the Rosetta Stone brand, with more than 30 languages in its self study portfolio.  While individuals are a large portion of revenues, it is also used by education institutions, government agencies, armed forces, and corporations.

Jon C. Ogg