IPO News This Week: Regional Airlines, 2 Banks Head New Offerings

August 5, 2018 by Paul Ausick

Last week’s initial public offering (IPO) action saw 5 scheduled listings make their entry into the public markets. The 5 IPOs raised a total of $1.38 billion in new capital. The month of July ended with 33 completed IPOs and August kicks off with 5 more seeking nearly $400 million in capital.

First, a brief review: of last week’s offerings only one broke issue; the rest closed the week in a range of up 1% to up 40% from the IPO price.

Sonos Inc. (NASDAQ: SONO) raised $208 million by selling 13.9 million shares at $15, below the expected range of $17 to $19. Shares got a first-day pop of 33% and closed the week up 40%.

Arlo Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ARLO) raised $163 million selling 10.2 million shares at $16, below the expected range of $18 to $20. Shares got a 38% pop on the Friday IPO.

Cushman & Wakefield plc (NYSE: CWK) raised $765 million selling 45 million shares at $17, the midpoint of the expected range. Shares got a first-day pop of 5% and closed the week up 9%.

Blank-check firm Tottenham Acquisition (NASDAQ: TOTAU) raised $40 million selling 4 million units at $10 each. Units closed up 1% on the Friday IPO.

Forum Merger (NASDAQ: FMCIU), another blank-check company, raised $200 million selling 20 million units at $10 each. Units closed the week down 1% on the Friday IPO.

Through the week ending August 3, IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital reported that 128 IPOs have priced in the U.S. so far this year, up 44% year over year. Total proceeds raised through last week equaled $34.1 billion, up about 55% 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.

Here are the 5 IPOs on this week’s agenda.

Amalgamated Bank is a New York commercial bank and chartered trust company. The firm plans to offer 6.72 million shares in an expected price range of $15 to $17 to raise $107 million at a market cap of $516 million. Underwriters include Barclays, J.P. Morgan, Keefe Bruyette Woods, Piper Jaffray, Raymond James, and Sandler O’Neill. Shares are scheduled to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol AMAL.

Mesa Air Group Inc. is a regional U.S. airline. The company plans to sell 10.7 million shares in an expected price range of $14 to $16 to raise $161 million at a market cap of $549 million. Underwriters include Raymond James, BofA/Merrill Lynch, Cowen, Stifel, and Imperial Capital. Shares are scheduled to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol MESA.

Vaccinex Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology firm developing antibodies to combat cancer and neurological diseases. The company plans to offer 3.33 million shares in an expected price range of $12 to $15 to raise $45 million at a market cap of $191 million. Underwriters are Oppenheimer & Company, BTIG, and Ladenburg Thalmann. Shares are scheduled to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol VCNX.

Pacific City Financial Corp. is a California commercial bank primarily serving Korean-American communities. The firm plans to offer 2.39 million shares in an expected price range of $20 to $22 to raise $50 million at a market cap of $343 million. Underwriters are Keefe Bruyette Woods, Raymond James, and Sandler O’Neill. Shares are scheduled to price Thursday and begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol PCB.

Bionano Genomics Inc. is a life sciences instrumentation maker selling a proprietary system for next-generation genome analysis. The company plans to offer 5.5 million shares in an expected price range of $5 to $6 to raise $30 million at a market cap of $85 million. Underwriters are Roth Capital and Maxim Group LLC. Shares are listed only as “week of” and will trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol BNGO.

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