IPO News This Week: Two Solid Offerings on Tap

Only one initial public offering (IPO) was completed last week, but it was a biggie. Streaming music giant Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT) held its direct offering on Tuesday and set a valuation for the company of around $$26.3 billion at the end of the first week of trading.

The usual statistics don’t apply here because none of the capital raised in the IPO went to the company. Spotify investors like Sony Music and China’s Tencent sold some of their shares for tidy profits. For the record, a placeholder price of $132.50 was put on the stock ahead of the IPO and shares traded as high as $169 on Tuesday. Shares closed the week at $147.92k up 2.7% for the day Friday.

There are two IPOs on the coming week’s calendar, one a technology unicorn and the other biotech working on therapies for Alzheimer disease.

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Through the week ending March 29, IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital reported that 45 IPOs have priced in the U.S. so far this year, up about 55% year over year. Total proceeds raised through last week equaled $22.9 billion, up 108% 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.

Alzheon Inc. is a late stage biotechnology company developing therapies to treat Alzheimer disease. The company plans to offer 5 million shares in an expected price range of $13 to $15 to raise $70 million at a market cap of $212 million. Underwriters are Citi, Piper Jaffray, Canaccord Genuity, and JMP Securities. Shares are expected to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol ALZH.

Zuora Inc. offers a cloud-based subscription billing and management platform. The company plans to offer 10 million shares in an expected price range of $9 to $11 to raise $100 million at a market cap of $1.14 billion. Underwriters include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Allen & Co., Jefferies, Canaccord Genuity, and Needham & Co. Shares are expected to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ZUO.

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