Six new companies were added to the US IPO pipeline Wednesday, indicating that the global economic turmoil that has rocked the markets for the past month has not completely discouraged companies from attempting to tap the IPO market. Brightcove (BCOV), Genomatica (GENO), Laredo Petroleum (LPI), Inergy Midstream LP (NRGM), Jive Software (JIVE) and Eloqua (ELOQ) bring the swelling US IPO pipeline to 180 companies. The six new filings operate in either the technology (3) or energy (3) industries, which are two of top three IPO sectors by deal count over the last 12 months.
Online video platform provider Brightcove filed with the SEC on Wednesday to raise up to $50 million in its IPO. As of June 30, 2011, the company's flagship Brightcove Video Cloud product had 3,295 customers, including the New York Times, Oracle and Showtime, up from 2,469 customers at December 31, 2010. Sales of a second product, Brightcove App Cloud, announced May 2011, are expected to commence in the second half of 2011. Revenue was $28.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011, an increase of 40% over the year-ago period. The company has never been profitable, recording an operating loss of $9.5 million in 1H11, and expects to incur operating losses at least through 2012. Brightcove is backed by venture capital firms Accel Partners and General Catalyst Partners, which brought Chinese video site Tudou (TUDO) public just last week.
Genomatica, which has developed a platform to convert renewable feedstocks into chemicals used in various consumer products, including athletic apparel, running shoes, electronics and automobiles, plans to raise up to $100 million in its IPO. The company has developed a process to produce butanediol (BDO), which has a global market of $4 billion, from sugars using genetically engineered bacteria, and expects high-volume production to begin by the end of 2012. Genomatica is also developing a process to sustainably produce butadiene, which has a global market of $40 billion. The company has reported minimal revenue to date and has incurred significant net losses since its inception, recording a net loss of $9.1 million for 1H11; it expects substantial net losses to increase for the next several years. Genomatica's slate of venture capital backers includes TPG Capital, MDV, VantagePoint Venture Partners, and Alloy Ventures. The offering of Genomatica follows recent IPOs of other bio-based chemical/fuel companies including KiOR (KIOR), Solazyme (SZYM), Gevo (GEVO) and Amyris (AMRS).
Laredo Petroleum, an energy firm focused on the exploration and production of oil and natural gas in the Permian Basin and the Anadarko Granite Wash of Texas and Oklahoma, filed with the SEC to raise up to $450 million in its IPO. Backed by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, the Tulsa, OK-based company grew production by 81% in the 1H11 to 22,000 BOE/day, and it generated $305 million in adjusted EBITDA for the 12 months ended June 30, 2011.
Inergy Midstream LP, a limited partnership formed by Inergy LP to own and operate midstream energy assets, filed with the SEC to raise up to $300 million in its IPO. The Kansas City, MO-based company generated $106 million in revenue for the 12 months ended June 30, 2011 and had an adjusted EBITDA margin of 76%.
Jive Software, which provides a social networking platform for enterprises that engages employees, customers and partners, filed on Wednesday with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. The company's flagship Jive Engage Platform product had 635 customers, including Hewlett-Packard, SAP, T-Mobile and UBS, and over 15 million users as of June 30, 2011. Jive is growing rapidly, recording $34 million in revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2011, an increase of 76% over the year-ago period, and booking $42 million in billings, an increase of 59%. However, it is unprofitable, reporting a net loss of $31 million for 1H11, and does not expect to be profitable in the foreseeable future. In its SEC filing, Jive cites salesforce.com, Microsoft and IBM as competitors.
Eloqua Limited, which provides real-time revenue optimization and marketing automation software to over 1,000 customers across a wide spectrum of industries, filed on Wednesday with the SEC to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering. The Vienna, VA-based company, which was founded in 2000, booked $60 million in sales for the 12 months ended June 30, 2011.
Filings from relatively risky companies like Brightcove and Genomatica are striking given that even established companies may flounder in the current choppy markets. The companies will be hoping that recent investor interest in online video and bio-based petroleum alternatives, respectively, will outweigh lower risk tolerance.
Profitable energy companies Laredo Petroleum and Inergy Midstream LP seem better prepared to face the uncertain markets. Laredo Petroleum and Inergy Midstream LP follow an earlier slew of filings from energy companies including Rose Rock Midstream (RRMS), Matador Resources (MTDR) and Mid-Con Energy Partners (MCEP). With Laredo Petroleum and Inergy Midstream LP, the backlog of energy companies looking to go public grows to 18, representing 10% of the total IPO backlog.
Without an improvement in the global economic environment, volatility will likely continue to grip the markets, providing resistance for any company looking to launch an IPO. However, the IPO pipeline continues to swell with new filings, holding promise for an active fall.
