Only three companies set terms since last Monday, and none were technology or health care companies (which account for over half of IPOs this year). In terms of IPOs, this year has seen the busiest January, February, March and April in at least ten years, but May should fail to achieve more pricings than last year. Along with a recent correction in the IPO market (as seen in the Renaissance Capital IPO ETF, symbol "IPO"), IPO activity typically slows down before a holiday week.
Parsley Energy (PE), a fast-growing oil and gas E&P operating in the West Texas Permian Basin, is on the calendar to begin trading on Friday. The IPO should raise about $600 million for the company and $123 million for selling insiders, which include primary backer Natural Gas Partners and executives. Year to date, Parsley’s top three closest peers have traded up between 32% and 42%. SunEdison Semiconductor (SEMI), which makes silicon wafers for semiconductors used in phones and tablets, is a spinoff of solar energy company SunEdison (NYSE:SUNE). Its largest customer, Samsung, is investing $100 million in a concurrent private placement, but the IPO could face headwinds due to poor peer trading (SUMCO is down 8% over the last month).
| IPO terms filings (May 12, 2014 to May 20, 2014) | |||
| Company (Ticker) | Business | Deal Size ($mm) | LTM Sales ($mm) |
| Parsley Energy (PE) | Oil and gas E&P in the Permian Basin | $724 | $162 |
| SunEdison Semiconductor (SEMI) | Silicon wafers for semiconductors; spinoff of SunEdison | $101 | $894 |
| Heritage Insurance Holdings (HRTG) | Florida-based residential insurance | $90 | $136 |
Citizens Financial and GoPro join the IPO pipeline
14 companies filed for IPOs during the past two weeks, bringing May's current number up to 25 and the total US IPO pipeline to 123 companies looking to raise $49 billion. By far the largest company to submit an initial filing in the past two weeks was Citizens Financial Group (CFG), the commercial banking arm of RBS. It is the 13th largest retail bank in the US, with about 1,370 offices and $4.7 billion in revenue//$122 billion in assets. We estimate that Citizens, the 13th largest retail bank in the US, could raise as much as $3 billion, ahead of the year's two largest IPOs - Santander Consumer USA (SC) and Ally Financial (ALLY).
Two new filers are consumer electronics companies, which have been absent from the IPO market since Skullcandy's public offering in 2011. GoPro, which makes wearable HD action cameras, filed for an IPO on Monday. The listed deal size is $100 million, but its strong cash flow (2013 adjusted EBITDA of $133 million) and fast growth (148% 3-year sales CAGR) suggest it could plan to raise more. Victory Electronic Cigarettes (ECIG), which currently trades on the OTC markets, filed for a $150 million uplisting to the NASDAQ. The company has acquired several domestic and international brands of e-cigarettes, which continue to grow rapidly but more recently have come under regulatory scrutiny in US markets.
Good Technology's $100 million IPO filing comes just one month after close competitor MobileIron (MOBL) filed plans to raise $100 million. Another competitor, AirWatch, was acquired by VMware in January for $1.5 billion. These mobile device management companies provide enterprises with tools aimed at securing corporate data on employees' mobile devices as businesses increasingly move work onto mobile. Enterprise software IPOs had recently stalled amid a technology selloff, but Zendesk's successful IPO last Thursday and its positive aftermarket trading may encourage others.
Four biotechs have filed for IPOs since last Monday, signaling that the biotech window could reopen soon as the backlog builds. With nine filings so far, May could be one of the busiest months for biotech filings if the pace continues. Seeking to raise $115 million, Kite Pharma (KITE) is the largest IPO of the four. Its filing arrives as cancer immunotherapy drugs are explored for more types of tumors, based on developments from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck and Roche. ZS Pharma (ZSPH), which develops one of the two most promising treatments for hyperkalemia, filed for a $100 million IPO last week. Relypsa (RLYP), its a direct competitor and November 2013 IPO, is now trading at half of its March's peaks, but still trades 101% above its IPO price. A non-biotech health care company Parnell Pharmaceuticals Holdings (PARN) is notable for its medicinal products primarily focused on companion animals and follows the IPO of Phibro Animal Health (PAHC, +23% from IPO) in April.
| IPO initial filings (May 12, 2014 to May 20, 2014) | |||
| Company (Ticker) | Business | Deal Size ($mm) | LTM Sales ($mm) |
| Citizens Financial Group (CFG) | US banking arm of RBS | $3,000 | $4,690 |
| Victory Electronic Cigarettes (ECIG) | Owns a portfolio of electronic cigarettes | $150 | $76 |
| Kite Pharma (KITE) | Biotech: utilizes immune system to fight cancer | $115 | $0 |
| GoPro (GPRO) | Leading maker of wearable action cameras | $100 | $966 |
| Good Technology (GDT.RC) | Mobile device management for enterprises | $100 | $160 |
| Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (AMPH) | Drugs include generic version Sanofi's Lovenox |
$100 | $223 |
| ZS Pharma (ZSPH) | Biotech: treatments for hyperkalemia | $86 | $0 |
| Ardelyx (ARDX) |
Biotech: small molecule treatments for GI diseases | $69 | $31 |
| Marinus Pharmaceuticals (MRNS) | Biotech: add-on epilepsy therapy | $63 | $0 |
| Parnell Pharmaceuticals Holdings (PARN) | Health care products for companion animals | $58 | $12 |
| NextEra Energy Partners, LP (NEP) | Clean energy LP carved out of NextEra Energy | $50 | $169 |
| Investar Holding (ISTR) | Louisiana commercial bank with 10 offices | $45 | $27 |
| U.S. Rare Earths (UREE) | Exploratory rare earth elements mining | $23 | $0 |
| MOKO Social Media (MOKO) | Custom mobile social media platforms |
$10 | $6 |
