Investing

IPO Week Ahead: Shell MLP Leads the Way

Could the hot market for initial public offerings (IPO) finally be cooling off? Of last week’s potential eight IPOs, one was delayed, four were postponed and just three made it out the door to the public markets.

IPO exchange traded fund (ETF) manager Renaissance Capital reports that 231 IPOs have priced in the United States so far this year, up about 34% from a year ago. Total proceeds raised come to $73.6 billion, up about 79% from 2013. To date in the month of October, IPO proceeds total $4.6 billion. Last week’s IPOs added $300 million to the October total. The 2013 IPO total came in at $54.9 billion, the highest total in the past 10 years, and that has already been surpassed with more than two months left in 2014.

The delayed IPO last week was Viking Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in California focused on developing therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. The company first planned its IPO for the week of September 22. Viking plans to offer 5 million shares in a price range of $10 to $12, raising $55 million at a market cap of about $167 million. The IPO continues to be listed as day-to-day. Shares will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol VKTX.

Two biotech firms, Virobay and EndoStim, postponed their IPOs, as did Fifth Street Asset Management and Electronic Cigarettes International Group.

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Blank check company Hydra Industries Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: HDRAU), savings and loan holding company Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin Inc. (NASDAQ: ABCW) and Proteon Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: PRTO) completed their IPOs last week. Anchor BanCorp closed the week up 19% at $31.00, and Proteon priced its IPO at $10, below its expected range of $12 to $14, and closed flat on Friday.

The coming week’s IPOs are led by Shell Midstream Partners L.P., a master limited partnership (MLP) formed by an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS-A) to own and operate crude oil and refined product pipelines in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. The partnership plans to offer 37.5 million common units in an IPO price range of $19 to $21, raising $750 million at a market value of around $1.35 billion. Joint bookrunners for the offering are Barclays, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and UBS Investment Bank. Co-managers are Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo Securities, RBC Capital Markets and Credit Agricole CIB. Common units are expected to price on Tuesday and begin trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SHLX.

Harmony Merger Corp. is a blank check company that plans to offer 10 million units (one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase three-quarters of one share of common stock on the consummation of an initial business combination) at $10 per unit to raise $100 million. The sole underwriter of the offering is Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. Units are expected to price on Wednesday and to begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol HRMNU. More details are available in the company’s amended Form S-1 filing.

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Boot Barn Holdings Inc. is a U.S. retailer of western and work-related footwear, apparel and accessories. The company had 155 stores in 24 states at the end of June. The company plans to offer 5 million shares in an IPO price range of $14 to $16 to raise $75 million at a market cap of about $374 million. Underwriters are J.P. Morgan, Piper Jaffray, Jefferies, Wells Fargo Securities and Baird. The IPO is scheduled to price on Wednesday and to begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BOOT.

Sientra Inc. is a medical aesthetics company that manufactures breast and other implants. The company plans to offer 5 million shares in an IPO price range of $14 to $16, raising $75 million at a market cap of around $212 million. Joint bookrunners are Piper Jaffray and Stifel. Co-managers are Leerink Partners and William Blair. Shares are expected to price on Wednesday and to begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SIEN.

Capnia Inc. is a medical diagnostics and therapeutics firm. The company plans to offer 1.9 million units (one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of common stock) at an IPO price of $6.50. Capnia expects to raise $12 million at a market value of $40 million. The manager of the offering is Maxim Group and co-managers are National Securities and Dawson James Securities. The units are listed only as expected to trade next week on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol CAPNU. More details are available in the amended Form S-1 filing.

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