There were no initial public offerings (IPOs) during the holiday-shortened week and there is just one IPO on the calendar for next week. There was some action on the filing front last week, however.
Last week may not have been the best time for companies to launch an initial public offering (IPO). The equities market took a pounding and just 6 of 10 companies were able to launch, raising $992 million out of a planned $1.8 billion total. A total of four firms have scheduled IPOs for the coming week seeking to raise about $490 million in new capital.
In the week before the President’s Day holiday, four firms did enter the public markets:
Biofrontera AG (NASDAQ: BFRA) raised $12 million selling 1.2 million shares at $12, the midpoint of the expected range. The stock got a first-day pop of 23% and closed the week up 44%.
DFB Healthcare Acquisitions Corp. (NASDAQ: DFBHU), a blank-check company, sold 25 million units at $10 to raise $250 million.
Leo Holdings Corp. (NYSE: LHC.U), another blank-check company, raised $200 million selling 20 million units at $20.
Motus GI Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MOTS) raised $18 million selling 3.5 million shares in a downsized offering that priced at $5, the low-end of the expected range. Shares dropped 12% on the first day of trading and closed the week down 20%.
Through the week ending February 23, IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital reported that 28 IPOs have priced in the U.S. so far this year, up about 87% year over year. Total proceeds raised through last week equaled $10.9 billion, up 137% year over year.
For 2017, Renaissance Capital reported a total of 160 IPOs, up 52% year over year from 105 in 2016. Total 2017 proceeds amounted to $35.5 billion compared with a 2016 total of $18.8 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.
Last week’s big news was the IPO filing of cloud-storage company Dropbox. The preliminary filing indicated the firm would seek $500 million but did not specify either the number of shares nor an expected price range.
There is just one IPO filing on the calendar for next week. Blank-check company Union Acquisition Corp. plans to acquire or enter a business combination with a focus on Latin American opportunities. The company plans to offer 10 million units at $10 per unit to raise $100 million at a market cap of $152.5 million. Underwriters are Ladenburg Thalmann and CIM Securities. Units are expected to begin trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol LTN.U.
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