IPO News This Week: 8 Firms Seeking $1.6 Billion in New Capital

October 14, 2018 by Paul Ausick

Last week’s initial public offering (IPO) action saw four companies launch successful offerings that raised $1 billion in new capital in a tough week for equity markets. One additional IPO for a blank-check company was also completed. A total of eight IPOs are scheduled to launch in the coming week, seeking a total of $1.6 billion in new capital.

Here’s a brief rundown of last week’s IPOs.

Allogene Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: ALLO) raised $324 million in an upsized offering of 18 million shares priced at $18, the high end of the range. Shares got a first-day pop of 39% and closed the week up 49%.

Anaplan Inc. (NYSE: PLAN) raised $264 million by selling 15.5 million shares at $17, the high end of the expected range. Shares popped 43% on the Friday IPO.

Equillium Inc. (NASDAQ: EQ) raised $65 million by selling 4.7 million shares at $14, the low end of the expected range. Shares closed flat for the week.

Livent Corp. (NYSE: LTHM) raised $340 million by selling 20 million shares at $17, below the expected range. Shares closed flat on their first trading day and closed the week down 4%.

Through the week ending October 12, IPO ETF manager Renaissance Capital reported that 165 IPOs have priced in the United States so far this year, up 47% year over year. Total proceeds raised through last week equaled $41.6 billion, up about 62% 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 eight IPOs that will test the public markets in the coming week.

Graf Industrial is a blank-check company seeking to acquire an industrial business valued at more than $1 billion. The company plans to offer 22.5 million units priced at $10 to raise $225 million at a market cap of $281 million. Underwriters are EarlyBird Capital, Oppenheimer and I-Bankers Securities. Units are scheduled to price Monday and begin trading Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GRAF.U.

Riley Exploration Permian is an oil and gas exploration and production company focused on the Permian Basin. The company plans to offer 6.7 million shares in an expected price range of $14 to $16 to raise $100 million at a market cap of $354 million. Underwriters include SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Seaport Group, Capital One Securities, Imperial Capital and Roth Capital. Shares are scheduled to price Tuesday and begin trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol REPX.

PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals is a phase 2 biotechnology firm developing therapies for orphan diseases. The company plans to offer 5 million shares in an expected price range of $12 to $14 to raise $65 million at a market cap of $269 million. Underwriters are Citi, Cowen, Stifel and Needham. Shares are scheduled to price Tuesday and begin trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PHAS.

SI-BONE is a medical device firm that offers a minimally invasive implant designed to alleviate lower back pain. The company plans to offer 6 million shares in an expected price range of $13 to $15 to raise $84 million at a market cap of $335 million. Underwriters are Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Canaccord Genuity and JMP Securities. Shares are scheduled to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol SIBN.

Studio City International is a Macau-based resort and casino being spun out of Melco Resorts. The company plans to offer 28.75 million American depositary shares (ADSs) in an expected price range of $10.50 to $12.50 to raise $331 million at a market cap of $854 million. Each ADS represents four ordinary shares. Underwriters are Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley. ADSs are scheduled to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MSC.

Valtech is a U.K.-based firm offering outsourced enterprise IT development services. The firm plans to offer 6.7 million shares in an expected price range of $14 to $16 to raise $100 million at a market cap of $678 million. Underwriters include JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Cowen, Oddo BHF and William Blair. Shares are scheduled to price Wednesday and begin trading Thursday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol VTEC.

LogicBio Therapeutics is a preclinical gene-editing biotechnology firm developing therapies for rare diseases. The company plans to offer 5.8 million shares in an expected price range of $12 to $14 to raise $75 million at a market cap of $294 million. Underwriters are Jefferies, Barclays, William Blair and Chardan Capital Markets. Shares are scheduled to price Thursday and begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LOGC.

Niu Technologies is a Beijing-based producer of lithium-ion electric scooters. The company plans to offer 8.3 million ADSs in an expected price range of $10.50 to $12.50 to raise $95 million at a market cap of $899 million. Each ADS represents two ordinary shares. Underwriters are Credit Suisse, Citi and Needham. ADSs are scheduled to price Thursday and begin trading Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol NIU.

SolarWinds provides IT infrastructure management software. The company plans to offer 42 million shares in an expected price range of $17 to $19 to raise $756 million at a market cap of $5.49 billion. Underwriters include Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citi, Evercore ISI, Jefferies, Macquarie Capital, Nomura Securities, RBC Capital Markets, Baird, JMP Securities, KeyBanc Capital Markets, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Mischler Financial Group and Ramirez. Shares are scheduled to price Thursday and begin trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SWI.

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