Posts for Ticker ‘FIG’

IPO Market Showing Concern (MG, TLCR, BSBR, EM, CLNY, RA, FIG, ARI, VITC, ECHO, CPC, GAME, SNDA, CYOU, SOHU, CPIX, OMER, BX)

bull-and-bear-image2It was just in August that practically every single initial public offering was trading above its IPO price.  The market had rallied significantly, and still rallied after that to just this week have a 10,000 handle on the DJIA.  Investors started warming to more risk-based capital, and investment bankers were finally able to get deals done.  Even waves and waves of secondary offerings were able to be absorbed merely by brokers being able to tell clients they could buy stock at an implied discount to the average price over the few days before.  But suddenly, the IPO market has turned out some real dogs with fleas.

Mistra Group (NYSE: MG) priced its offering at $12.50 on October 7.  While it traded as low as $12.17, it has escaped the hangman’s file of ‘busted deals’ as it is now a $13.51 stock.  The one thing that may have helped was that it priced under an initial range of $14 to $16 per share.  Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: TLCR) also went into the busted category temporarily after hitting a low of $18.01 after a $19.00 pricing.  Fortunately, it is up at $19.97 so is also now out of the hangman’s eyes.  Still, an 8% gain and a 5% gain in this market might leave some investors feeling lonely.  Banco Santander Brasil S.A. (NYSE: BSBR) was a very large IPO of over 500 million shares at an implied $13.40, and this one got out of the “busted IPO” dungeon on Thursday and closed at $13.51 on Friday.  Before Thursday it had spent its 6 prior trading sessions as a busted IPO.

Emdeon Inc. (NYSE: EM) had traded above $18.00 briefly after its IPO priced at $15.50 in August. But now the healthcare revenue and payment cycle management solutions provider, which is supposed to be a healthcare winner ahead, closed down at $15.35 on Friday  and had been slightly lower during the week.  This was effectively a re-IPO as Emdeon had been public before after General Atlantic Partners acquired it and it also received an investment from Hellman & Friedman. It also has ties to James Clark, the Netscape founder and was part of Healtheon.

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Posted on: October 17, 2009 – 8:45 am in ADR, Biotech, Business Services, China, Editor's Picks, Entertainment, IPOs, Mergers and Buy Outs, Private Equity, REIT, Secondary Offering, Trading Alert, Value Investing, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

RailAmerica Comes Public, Again (RA, FIG)

Broken Money Merger ImagePrivate equity firms keep exiting their old buyouts when they can.  This morning we have an initial public offering from RailAmerica, Inc. (NYSE: RA) for some 22,000,000 shares of common stock.  This is being brought public by Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG).  This deal is listed as a 10,500,000 primary shares of common stock being sold, as well as 11,500,000 secondary shares of common stock by the RR Acquisition Holding LLC wholly-owned entity under private equity funds managed by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC.
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Posted on: October 13, 2009 – 9:54 am in IPOs, Private Equity, Transports, ,

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (CHK, DD, FIG, FITB, KIND, MMC, MINI, STI, UNTD, VCLK)

These are the top ten pre-market analyst upgrades, downgrades, and initiations from Wall Street research this Thursday morning:

Chesapeake Energy (CHK) Cut to Hold at Argus.
DuPont (DD) Raised to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Fortress Investment Group (FIG) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
Kindred Healthcare (KIND) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
March & McLennan (MMC) Raised to Market Perform at KBW.
Mobile Mini (MINI) Cut to Hold at Needham.
SunTrust (STI) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
United Online (UNTD) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.
ValueClick (VCLK) Raised to Buy at Merriman Curhan Ford.

JON C. OGG
AUGUST 6, 2009

Posted on: August 6, 2009 – 7:51 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

New Wave of Secondary Offerings (AWR, ENR, FIG, PL, SMTB, WAL)

Money Stack ImageWe are seeing yet another wave of secondary offerings that have priced between yesterday’s close and this morning. The offerings we have seen come to more than $1 billion and are from American States Water (NYSE: AWR), Energizer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ENR), Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG), Protective Life Corp. (NYSE: PL), Smithtown Bancorp (NASDAQ: SMTB), and Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE: WAL).

We have broken these down by price and size, along with the difference of the pricing from yesterday’s close and from highs earlier this week.

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Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 6:37 am in Banking, Secondary Offering, , , , , ,

Downgrading Hedgies, Private Equity & Financials (BX, FIG, GLG, IVZ, JNS, OZM, STD, TROW)

Burning_money_picThere is an interesting trend where Barclays has essentially cut its rankings on hedge fund and private equity operators. Here are the calls, plus a call elsewhere on a bank:

  • Blackstone (NYSE: BX) Cut to Underweight at Barclays.
  • Fortress Investment (NYSE: FIG) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
  • GLG Partners (NYSE: GLG) Cut to Equal Weight at    Barclays.
  • INVESCO (NYSE: IVZ) Started as Equal Weight at Barclays.
  • Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS) Started as Underweight at Barclays.
  • Och-Ziff Capital (NYSE: OZM) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
  • Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE: STD) Cut to Sell from Neutral at UBS.
  • T. Rowe Price (NASDAQ: TROW) Started as Equal Weight at Barclays.

Jon C. Ogg
January 14, 2009

Posted on: January 14, 2009 – 7:50 am in Analyst Calls, Banking, Financial Stocks, Private Equity, , , , , , , ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (RE, FIG, PRE, SGEN, TROW, AUY, NT, RICK, RDS.A, X)

These are ten of the top analyst upgrades and downgrades we have seen this Monday morning with about 2 hours to the the open:

  • Everest Re (RE) to Outperform at Wachovia.
  • Fortress Investment (FIG) Raised to Hold from Sell at Citigroup.
  • PartnerRe (PRE) Raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
  • Seattle Genetics (SGEN) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
  • T. Rowe Price (TROW) Raised to Outperform at KBW; raised to Outperform at Wachovia.
  • Yamana Gold (AUY) Raised to Outperform at CIBC.
  • Nortel (NT) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
  • Rick’s Cabaret (RICK) Cut to Neutral at Merriman Curhan Ford.
  • Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
  • US Steel (X) Cut to Sell at UBS.

Jon C. Ogg
October 27, 2008

Posted on: October 27, 2008 – 6:50 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Fortress Files For $1 Billion Securities Shelf (FIG)

Money_stack_picFortress Investment Group, LLC (NYSE: FIG) has filed a shelf registration to offer as much as $1 billion in mixed securities.  It lists Class A shares, preferred shares, depository shares, warrants, subscription rights, purchase contracts, and purchase units as the combination of securities it can sell.  Fortress plans to use the proceeds for working capital and other general corporate purposes, which may include the repayment or refinancing of debt.  No underwriters were named.  Fortress is down over 16% today at $11.25, and its 52-week trading range is $8.38 to $24.73.  Its current market cap is $1.06 billion.

Jon C. Ogg
September 26, 2008

Posted on: September 26, 2008 – 2:10 pm in Financial Stocks, Secondary Offering,

Early Bird Analyst Downgrades (CHS, FIG, GE, MPEL, MTB, SNY, SLGN, STM, STI)

These are not all of the downgrades or negative analyst calls affecting stocks this Tuesday, but these are some of the highlights we have seen with over 2 and a half hours to the market open:

  • Chico’s FAS (NYSE: CHS) Cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  • Fortress Investment (NYSE: FIG) Cut to Market Perform at KBW.
  • General Electric (NYSE: GE) Cut to Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
  • Melco Crown Entertainment (NASDAQ: MPEL) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB) Cut to Underperform at Baird.
  • Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
  • Silgan Holdings (NASDAQ: SLGN) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
  • STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI) Cut to Neutral at Baird.

Jon C. Ogg
September 23, 2008

Posted on: September 23, 2008 – 6:03 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , ,

Penn Actually Wins In Merger Implosion (PENN, FIG)

Penn National Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: PENN) has been considered a dead merger for quite some time, yet it only officially became a dead merger this morning.  This was the last of the big multi-billion deals still officially on the books that was put together back before we had a full blown credit crunch.

PNG Acquisition Company Inc. was the entity that was going to do the acquisition, and that was an entity indirectly owned by certain funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG) and Centerbridge Partners, L.P.

The buyout price of $67.00 per share was older than Methuselah.  Since January, this stock slid steadily from over $60.00 down to under $30.00.  The deal was a known to be dead by everyone.  But there is actually a silver lining here for the company.  Penn National will get $1.475 Billion in cash out of this.  The breakdown is a $225 million deal termination fee, and the rest will be a $1.25 Billion redeemable preferred equity due 2015.  Affiliates of Fortress, affiliates of Centerbridge, affiliates of Wachovia, and affiliates of Deutsche Bank will all be holders of those notes.  To top it off, Fortress Investment Group’s  Chairman & CEO, Wesley Edens, will join the Penn National Gaming Board of Directors.

Penn National has also issued preliminary 2008 guidance of $2.5388 Billion in revenues, with $682.3 million in EBITDA, and $487.2 million in income from operations.  It will also repurchase $200 million in shares.

Wall Street is actually applauding this somewhat.  Shares are up 1.4% at $28.97 shortly after the open.  Penn National Gaming has a $2.5 Billion market cap as of today.  Penn isn’t a pure casino play as it also hold raceways.  But that sector has also seen a 50% drop (or worse) in many of the key names from last year’s highs, so the share price drop here is actually in-line performance. 

Penn had $2.9+ Billion in long-term debt and total liabilities stood at $3.85+ Billion in total liabilities.  This looks like it is going to bolster the company’s books more than any hurt an already-known dead merger was going to do. It is always possible you’ll see a selling response, but after looking it over the company is going to have a better operating structure with far less leverage than it would have been under that merger.

Jon C. Ogg
July 3, 2008

Posted on: July 3, 2008 – 8:48 am in Casinos, Mergers and Buy Outs, Private Equity, ,

Top 10 Pre-Market Analyst Calls (ADM, ASMI, CN, CHU, FIG, BEN, MSO, NT, RYL, TER, VSE)

These are ten of the analyst calls we are focusing on this Thursday morning:

  • Archer-Daniels (NYSE: ADM) cut to Hold at Citigroup.
  • ASM Intl NV (NASDAQ: ASMI) started as Underperform at Jefferies.
  • China Netcom (NYSE: CN) and China Unicom (NYSE: CHU) raised to Hold at Deutsche Bank.    
  • Fortress Investment (NYSE: FIG) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
  • Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) raised to Outperform at KBW.
  • Martha Stewart (NYSE: MSO) cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Nortel (NYSE: NT) raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
  • Ryland Group (NYSE: RYL) raised to Buy at UBS.
  • Teradyne (NYSE: TER) started as Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
  • VeraSun Energy (NYSE: VSE) cut to Sell at Citigroup.

Jon C. Ogg
June 12, 2008

Posted on: June 12, 2008 – 7:14 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , ,

Gleaming Into Fortress’ Earnings (FIG)

Tuesday morning we’ll get to see earnings out of Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG). After close to a year of being public and as the public is scrutinizing anything not vanilla, this is an ever-important earnings report for it and for the sector.  The estimates for the public hedge fund and investment management firm from First Call are $0.18 EPS on $210.18 million in revenues. 

As it has a very limited time of being public, it is unknown if they will offer any guidance.  Next quarter estimates are $0.22 EPS on $261.18 million in revenues. Estimates for fiscal Dec-2008 are $1.17 EPS on $1.31 billion in revenues.

It appears as though options traders are braced for this stock "units) to move more than $1.00 in either direction, although we would caution that options are harder to use for price prediction as share prices become lower and lower.  There are very few contracts that have traded on this one, and options expiration date is now out until April 18.

On last look, its short interest was listed as being more than 9.6 million shares. With a high dividend of 8% and a massive short interest, this one could be a surprise winner if it doesn’t disappoint.  The company raised cash when it could in a strong market, but it has been a rough road since coming public in early 2007.  Analysts have an average price target north of $21.00, and its 52-week trading range is $9.50 to $34.03.

Jon C. Ogg
March 24, 2008

Posted on: March 24, 2008 – 12:59 pm in Earnings, Financial Stocks,

Michael Jackson’s Neverland, Saved By Fortress? (FIG, BAC, SNE)

Private equity firms and hedge funds often make what seem to rather odd investments.  But the one thing you can count on is that they both want to make money, even if it is in an odd transaction. 

It appears that Michael Jackson has worked out a confidential agreement with Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG) allowing him to retain ownership of the Neverland estate, despite having been in default and owing millions on the estate that was soon to be up for auction.  Here is the full AP article located on AOL, and it’s the same article located in many media sites.

If you will go back a few years, there was an issue of the Michael Jackson music catalog loan.  This loan involved a triangle with Sony Music, part of Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE), and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), but that was ultimately sold to none other than Fortress. 

Sometimes the lighter side of Wall Street is more interesting than the day to day business news.  At least this doesn’t involve Eliot Spitzer.

Jon C. Ogg
March 14, 2008

Posted on: March 14, 2008 – 3:16 am in Entertainment, Financial Stocks, , ,

52-Week Low Club (December 28, 2007)

Some of these stocks hit 52-week lows and recovered off of lows so they won’t have a low close.  But these did all touch or breach the 52-week lows.  At the end we also broke out retail stocks, financial stocks, airlines & transports, and hotels.  A separate report could have been compiled for REIT’s as well, but many of those were left off because of room or volume. There were enough 52-week lows today that you might even wonder if there had been a mini-crash in the markets.  Here are the 52-week lows for December 28, 2007:

  • Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD)… imagine if the company got Hector Ruiz to leave.
  • American Greetings (NYSE: AM)…again.
  • AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN)… new entrant.
  • Carmike Cinemas (NASDAQ:CKEC)
  • ChipMOS (NASDAQ:IMOS)
  • Corp. Office Property (NYSE: OFC)
  • Cryptologic (NASDAQ: CRYP)
  • Diebold (NYSE:DBD)
  • Fortune Brands (NYSE:FO)
  • Group 1 Auto (NYSE: GPI)
  • Infinera Corp. (NASDAQ: INFN)
  • Introgen (NASDAQ:INGN)
  • Japan Smaller Cap Fund (NYSE: JOF)
  • Lamar Advertising (NASDAQ: LAMR)
  • Legget & Platt (NYSE: LEG)
  • Martha Stewart (NYSE: MSO)
  • Marvell Tech (NASDAQ:MRVL)
  • Mattel (NYSE:MAT)
  • McClatchy (NYSE:MNI)
  • Micron Tech (NYSE:MU)
  • NGAS Resources (NASDAQ:NGAS)
  • Nortel Networks (NYSE:NT)
  • Owens Corning (NYSE:OC)
  • Omnicare (NYSE:OCR)
  • Prestige Brand (NYSE: PBH)
  • PC-Tel (NASDAQ:PCTI)
  • Ruth’s Chris (NASDAQ:RUTH)
  • SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK)
  • Theravance (NASDAQ:THRX)
  • Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO)
  • Wendy’s (NYSE: WEN)
  • World Fuel Services (NYSE:INT)
  • U-Store-It (NYSE:YSI)

Retail Stocks on 52-week lows: Ann Taylor (NYSE:ANN), Big Lots (NYSE:BIG), Borders Group (NYSE:BGP), Bon Ton Stores (NASDAQ:BONT), Chico’s FAS (NYSE:CHS), Finish Line (NASDAQ:FINL), Liz Claiborne (NYSE: LIZ), Macy’s (NYSE: M), Office Max (NYSE:OMX), Petsmart (NASDAQ:PETM), Stage Stores (NYSE:SSI)

Financial stocks on 52-week lows: Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Canseco (NYSE: CNO), Discover Financial (NYSE: DFS), Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB), Fortress Investment (NYSE: FIG), MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI), Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM)… urgh!  When does it stop?

Airlines/Transports on 52-week lows:  Airtran Holdings (NYSE: AAI)…again.  Did they launch a Friends Die Free rewards plan?  Continental Airlines (NYSE:CAL), Fedex (NYSE:FDX), Mesa Air (NASDAQ:MESA), Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA)… near $100 oil is a real pain.

Hotels Hitting 52-week lows: Host Hotels (NYSE: HST), Lasalle Hotel (NYSE: LHO), Starwood Hotels (NYSE:HOT), Sunstone Hotel (NYSE: SHO), Wydham Worldwide (NYSE:WYN).  Maybe these all wish they could get the private equity buyers back in the sector.  If only they could still borrow.

These CEO’s new year’s resolutions are all the same: "In 2008 I want to keep my stock off the 52-week low lists."

Jon C. Ogg
December 28, 2007

Posted on: December 28, 2007 – 3:01 pm in HI/LOW, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

New 52-Week Lows (July 20, 2007)

STOCK TICKERS: ABK, ACA, BZH, LEN, DHI, RYL, CC, BX, FIG, FINL, HGSI, HSY, HW, JNY, NLS, REDE, TRMP, UBET, TZOO, WB

The DJIA may have hit 14,000 earlier.  A pullback here, some bad news there, and all of a sudden there are still many little piggies being sold off.  Here are some of the main stocks hitting 52-weeks lows today, and it is even an edited-down list:

AMBAC (ABK) $80.05
Whoops, insuring and guaranteeing debt.

ACA Capital (ACA) $6.40
Yep, still no word out of the company yet.  Trading and guaranteeing CDO’s and derivates isn’t what it was cracked up to be, and we still don’t know their real situation.

Beazer Homes (BZH), Lennar (LEN) DR Horton (DHI), Ryland (RYL)
One of its comps calling for crummy to 2009…ouch.

Circuit City (CC) $13.63
You knew this one wasn’t bottomed out yet.

Blackstone (BX) $25.95
Schwarzman isn’t responsible for this added drop, but he’ll do for the blame.

Fortress Inv. Group (FIG) $22.28
This hedge fund, boy…are they in private equity and CDO’s?  Not an intraday low, but its lowest close.

Finish Line (FINL) $7.88
Glad I removed it from the BAIT SHOP of buyout candidates when I did, this one must have 10 piggies in each of their shoes.

Human Genome Sciences (HGSI) $8.61
Maybe genomics is such a 1990’s term.

Hershey (HSY) $47.84
This one was very overvalued for something you eat, so it squirts.

Headwaters (HW) $16.43

Jones Appareal (JNY) $26.62
Weren’t these guys supposed to sell out?

Nautilus (NLS) $9.14
When will a growth exercise and fitness company that warned be touted as a value stock?

Redenvelope (REDE) $5.05
Still don’t know anyone who has used this online e-tailer.

Trump Entertainment (TRMP) $9.50
The Donald’s casino operator can’t find a bottom without reaching under his back.

YouBet.com (UBET) $2.04
Bet this one isn’t done?

Travelzoo (TZOO) $23.00, prior intraday low was $23.16; high was $40.00+.
Online travel carnage continues….maybe France, Hong Kong, and Japan aren’t worth it.

Wachovia (WB) $49.98 close..prior 52-week low was $50.32.
Banks, they need someone to "Watch-ova-ya"

Jon C. Ogg
July 20, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: July 20, 2007 – 3:38 pm in HI/LOW, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Blackstone (BX) Joins The 52-Week Low Club

Blackstone (BX) It did just go public, but it should be doing better than this. $30.32, down from $38.

W Hldg (WHI) Bank holding company says one of its asset-backed loans is "impaired". Drops to $3.16 from 52-week high of $6.70.

Fortress Investment (FIG) Pulled down by Blackstone drop. Falls to $21.90 from 52-week high of $37.

Hovnanian (HOV), Pulte (PHM), Beazer (BZH), Lennar (LEN). On the list so often, might as well do them as a group. Housing gets worse.

US Energy Systems (USEY) Energy services provider looking at bankruptcy. Down to $.92 from 42-week of $6.95.

Encysive Pharmaceuticals (ENCY) Competitor’s pulmonary arterial hypertension drug wins approval, cuts most of staff, puts in a new CEO. Nuff said. Down to $1.71 from 52-week high of $7.10.

Human Genome Sciences (HGSI) Lehman Bros cuts stock on worries about the potential of its lupus drug candidate. Falls to $8.90 from 52-week high of $13.06.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: June 26, 2007 – 3:06 pm in Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , ,

Will Blackstone Remain a Busted Deal? (BX)

Blackstone Group LP (BX-NYSE) is only enjoying its third day as a public private equity entity.  Shares, well units, were trading north of $35.00 on most of Friday; and that compared to the $31.00 IPO pricing.  Shares slid yesterday on further tax concerns out of D.C. as an attack on wealth is feared to get worse and worse over the near future.  Today is proof to show just what all the hype and tabloid media coverage can generate.

Shares have fallen enough yesterday and again today to now put shares under the $31.00 IPO pricing.  That classifies the IPO in the hall of shame as a busted IPO.  Shares are now down 5% to $30.80.  It is hard not to go a day without hearing how we are at the top in M&A and that a private equity bubble exists.  This may be true on a leveraged basis and on a feeding frenzy basis, but private equity firms will still look where they can for value.  If you believe in the "follow the money" theory, you will believe they have no choice but to search for values.   

The truth is that these private equity funds on a combined basis still have many billions of dollars that needs to be put to work.  Many private equity funds have provisions that if certain portions of capital remain uncommitted for a certain period of time that the pension or investment group that invested in that fund has the right to withdraw funds.  That isn’t universally true, but it is in many such funds and has probably become more common on the newer and newer funds.

The tabloid coverage out of Barron’s last weekend sure didn’t help Blackstone, nor did it help other private equity funds and hedge funds that want to come public.  This is what can happen when the news turns into a media feeding frenzy.  Shares of Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG-NYSE), a giant hedge fund that came public earlier this year, are also seeing further pressure.  Its shares are at a new low since its IPO at $22.66, down from post-IPO highs of $37.00. 

Maybe the public markets just aren’t appropriate for every type of entity.

Jon C. Ogg
June 26, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: June 26, 2007 – 9:30 am in IPOs, Private Equity, ,

Blackstone Expedites IPO Date (BX)

Blackstone Group LP (BX-NYSE) is now expecting to price its IPO on this Thursday evening for a Friday trade date, one week earlier than originally planned.  The company has apparently ended the road show on more than enough demand for its shares.  The good news is that this means all that negative publicity and all of the preemptive tax issues are not killing the stock.  This is also probably to stem all of the pre-IPO coverage around the company itself rather a key individual who keeps staying in the media.

The IPO is expected to be in the $4 Billion area raised as the company is selling roughly a 12% stake in partnership units at an indicated price of $29.00 to $31.00.  Last week we made a note that the press media giving near-Tabloid coverage to it could affect valuations and could even impact the timing.  Perhaps this will curb that notion.

Depending on how this is received, you are likely to see more private equity firms and hedge funds come public later this summer.  The only ‘recent’ IPO even close to this was the earlier IPO for Fortress Investment Group LLC (FIG-NYSE).  There are many other private equity and public investment firms that have been public for some time, and here is a list if you would like to review: American Capital Strategies (ACAS-NASDAQ), Allied Capital Corp (ALD-NYSE), Apollo Investment Corp (AINV-NASDAQ), and more.

Jon C. Ogg
June 19, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: June 19, 2007 – 9:32 am in IPOs, Private Equity, , , , ,

Blackstone IPO Terms Set

The Blackstone Group L.P. has set its IPO terms for its 133,333,334 million limited partnership units in an initial range of $29.00 to $31.00 per unit.  These are units rather than ’shares’ because of the limited partner structure.  Its units will trade under the ticker "BX"on the New York Stock Exchange.  This also sets the final terms with the People’s Republic of China’s "State Investment Company" prior $3 billion stake of non-voting common units at a purchase price per common unit equal to 95.5% of the initial public offering price in this offering. The number of non-voting common units purchased by the State Investment Company will be reduced if necessary so that its equity interest in Blackstone remains under 10%.

A 20 million unit overallotment has been granted to underwriters, and at the high-end of the offering it would generate a $4.753+ Billion offering.  Morgan Stanley and Citigroup are the lead underwriters with co-managers listed as Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Lehman Brothers, and Deutsche Bank.  This private equity and public equity manager has rapidly grown in recent years, as you can tell by its assets under management: $13.3 Billion in 2000, $27.0 Billion in 2003, $69.5 Billion in 2006, and $88.37 Billion as of current assets under management as of May 1, 2007.

Its 2006 revenues were $1.12 Billion plus gains of $7.587 Billion, and net income was listed as $2.266 Billion for the year.  After this offering and based on the mid-point pricing of $30.00 Blackstone is indicated to have a market capitalization in excess of $32.5 Billion.

As far as some size differences, you can see Blackstone will be the horse of the public private equity, hedge fund, and alternative investment vehicles in the US: Fortress Investment Group, LLC (FIG-NYSE) $11.1 Billion market cap; American Capital Strategies (ACAS-NASDAQ) $7.8 Billion market cap; Allied Capital Corp. (ALD-NYSE) $4.9 Billion market cap.  Franklin Resources (BEN-NYSE) has perhaps the highest market cap in mutual fund advisory and asset management of the public companies in its sector with a $34 Billion market cap, with traditional assets under management stated as $601 Billion.

Jon C. Ogg
June 4, 2007

Jon Ogg can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

Posted on: June 4, 2007 – 10:14 am in Financial Stocks, IPOs, Private Equity, , , , ,