Investing

IPOs Continue Slo-Mo 2016 Start

Paul Ausick

Published: February 21, 2016 9:06 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 12:56 pm

Last week was another 0-fer in the initial public offering (IPO) market. February is typically a slow month and a holiday-shortened week may slow things down even more. Neither of the two companies that continue to be listed as day-to-day IPOs entered the market, and the coming week has just one company IPO and one ‘blank-check’ company.

Through the week ending February 19th, 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:

Given 2016’s tumultuous market, cashing out could be preferable to the low valuations available from an IPO. The Vix Volatility Index has been elevated for six months, and has risen so far in 2016. Only four companies have been able to go public this year, all biotechs with substantial insider support. Broader market indices are down across the board, and multiples in the tech sector have been crushed. A whopping 74% of IPOs from last year trade below the offer price, and the year’s average return from IPO is -22%.

The sole company filing in the coming week is U.S.-based Yangtze River Development Ltd. which is developing its Newport Logistics Center in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province in China. The company’s stock currently trades in the over-the-counter market under the ticker symbol YERR. The company plans to raise gross proceeds of $50 million, but has not specified a price range for the offering, but shares closed Friday at $4.80 in a 52-week range of $0.19 to $8.40. Sole bookrunner and lead manager for the offering is World Equity Group. No date for the IPO is specified, but shares are expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the YERR ticker symbol.

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Silver Run Acquisition Corp. is a blank-check company formed by Mark Papa and Riverstone to acquire an energy business. The company plans to offer 40 million units at an IPO price of $10 to raise $400 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. Joint bookrunners for the offering are Deutsche Bank, Citi, and Goldman Sachs. The IPO is listed only for the week of February 22nd. Shares will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SRAQ and warrants will trade under the symbol SRAQW.