The last week of the first quarter did not generate any action in the market for initial public offerings (IPOs), but the first week of the second quarter looks set to begin with a bang. A total of six IPOs are on the calendar for next week and, if everything happens as planned, investors will supply more than $1.1 billion in capital to the newly public firms.
In the first quarter of 2017; there were 25 IPOs that raised a total of $9.9 billion. Of the 25 deals, 12 involved private equity backed companies and 8 were venture-capital backed firms. The PE firms raised $5.1 billion and the VC firms raised $4.1 billion. In 2016, PE firms had no IPOs in the first quarter while VCs backed 7 but raised just $566 million.
The coming week’s planned IPOs include two tech companies, a trucking company, a Brazilian airline, and a pipeline master limited partnership (MLP). A blank-check company is also expected to file for an IPO next week.
Through the week ending March 31, IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital reported that 25 IPOs have priced in the U.S. so far this year, up about 213% year over year. Total proceeds raised through last week equaled $9.9 billion. For 2016, Renaissance Capital reported a total of 105 IPOs, down 38% year over year from 170 in 2015. Total 2016 proceeds amounted to $18.8 billion compared with a 2015 total of $30 billion. Renaissance Capital does not include “best efforts” or blank-check companies in its totals, nor does it include IPOs that raise less than $10 million.
A blank-check company, Forum Merger Corp., plans to offer 12.5 million units at $10 per unit to raise $125 million. The firm said it intends to focus on acquiring U.S.-based companies with an enterprise value of $250 million to $500 million. Underwriters for the offering are EarlyBirdCapital and FBR. The start of trading is designated only as “week of April 3” and units will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol FMCIU.
Hess Midstream Partners LP is an MLP formed by Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) with assets primarily located in the Bakken shale play of North Dakota. The company plans to offer 12.5 million common units in an expected price range of $19 to $21 to raise $250 million at an implied market cap of $545.6 million. Underwriters for the offering include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citi, J.P. Morgan, MUFG, Wells Fargo Securities, ING, Scotia Howard Weil, SMBC Nikko, Barclays, HSBC Corp., and TD Securities. The units are scheduled to price Tuesday and begin trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol HESM.
Elevate Credit Inc. is an online credit company for non-prime borrowers in the United States and the United Kingdom that uses technology and advanced analytics to make lending decisions. The company plans to offer 7.7 million shares in an expected price range of $12 to $14, raising $100 million at an implied market cap of $452.7 million. Underwriters include UBS Investment Bank, Credit Suisse, Jefferies, Stifel, and William Blair. Shares are scheduled to price Wednesday and to begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ELVT. We looked at this IPO in more detail last week.
Schneider National Inc. is a North American transportation and logistics company. The firm plans to offer 29 million shares in an expected price range of $18 to $20 to raise $550 million at an implied market cap of $3.3 billion. Underwriters for the offering are Morgan Stanley, UBS Investment Bank, BofA/Merrill Lynch, Citi, Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo Securities, Baird, and Wolfe Research Securities. Shares are expected to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SNDR.
Azul SA is Brazil’s largest airline. The company plans to offer 24 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) in a price range of $18.02 to $21.81 to raise $478 million at an implied market cap of $21.9 billion. Each ADS represents three preferred shares. Underwriters for the offering are Citi, Itau BBA, Deutsche Bank, Banco do Brasil Securities LLC, Bradesco BBI, J.P. Morgan, Raymond James, Santander, and Banco Safra SA. Shares are expected to price Thursday and begin trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AZUL.
Okta Inc. is a provider of on-demand identity and access management services for enterprises. The company plans to offer 11 million shares in an expected price range of $13 to $15 to raise $154 million at an implied market cap of $1.27 billion. Underwriters include Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Allen & Co., Pacific Crest, Canaccord Genuity, and JMP Securities. Shares are expected to price Thursday and begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol OKTA.
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