The market for initial public offerings (IPOs) in February was the slowest since 2009. The sole IPO to make it out the door last week was a blank-check company that intends to focus on buying assets in the oil patch. In the coming week, one biotech IPO and a couple more blank-check offerings are all there are.

Last week’s single IPO came from Silver Run Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: SRAQ), a blank-check company (aka, special-purpose acquisition company or SPAC) formed by Mark Papa and Riverstone to acquire an energy business. The company upsized its IPO from 40 million units to 45 million at an IPO price of $10 to raise $450 million. A unit comprises one share of class A common stock and one-third of one warrant. One warrant entitles the holder to purchase an additional share of class A common stock for $11.50. Interestingly the gross proceeds of this offering were higher than the previous four IPOs that have succeeded in 2016.

Through the week ending February 26th, IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital reported that 4 IPOs have priced in the U.S. so far this year, down about 83% from a year ago. Total proceeds raised through last week equaled $400 million, down nearly 90% compared with the same period in 2015. Of the 4 IPOs that have gone off this year, all have come from the healthcare sector. Last year’s IPO total came in at $30 billion on 170 offerings. Renaissance Capital does not include “best efforts” or blank-check companies in its totals.

Renaissance Capital sums up the year to date:

Before the IPO window fully opens, volatility needs to decline while returns improve. The VIX Volatility Index has closed below 20 just four times this year, and three of them occurred in the past week. After a steep drop in the beginning of the year, the Renaissance IPO Index (IPOUSA) has risen 10% in the past two weeks. If these trends continue, IPO activity could normalize by late March. However, only three companies have submitted new filings so far this month, meaning February is poised to be an 80-month low (since May 2009) for initial filings. The biotech sector drove January’s 17 filings, but the sector’s sell-off likely caused new submissions to dry up.

Syndax Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing entinostat as a combination therapy in multiple cancer indications. The company plans to offer 4.4 million share in an expected price range of $14 to $16 to raise $66 million at an implied market cap of $260.6 million. Joint bookrunners for the offering are Morgan Stanley and Citi. Co-managers are JMP Securities and Oppenheimer & Co. Shares are expected to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SNDX.

KLR Energy Acquisition Corp. is a blank-check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. The company plans to offer 13 million units at a price of $10 per unit to rise $130 million. Each unit comprises one share of class A common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of class A common stock at a price of $11.50 under certain conditions. Sole bookrunner for the offering is EarlyBird Capital Inc. and the co-manager is i-Bankers Securities. Units are listed only as week of February 29th and will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol KLREU. Shares will trade under the symbol KLRE and warrants will trade under the symbol KLREW once the IPO is completed.

One more IPO that continues to try to find a market is Advanced Inhalation Therapies (AIT) Ltd., an Israel-based company that is developing a single proprietary 160 parts-per-million nitric oxide formulation and delivery system to treat various respiratory infections. The company has downsized its plans, and will offer 333,333 units at $15 per unit. Each unit consists of two ordinary shares and three warrants to purchase one ordinary share. The company plans to raise $5 million at an implied market cap of $34.7 million. Sole bookrunner is Joseph Gunnar & Co. The offering is listed only as ‘week of.’ Units, shares, and warrants are set to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbols AITPU, AITP, and AITPW, respectively.

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