The week's leading IPO is a $250 million blank check company, a clear sign that the dog days of summer have taken hold in the US IPO market.
Strong returns from recent IPOs indicate an open market when activity resumes in September. The Renaissance IPO Index was up 1.5% in the past week, and has gained 31% since its low in mid-February. The S&P 500 recently hit an all-time high, and the VIX Volatility Index remained below 12 for most of the week, a level not seen in over two years.
| Renaissance Capital's IPO Calendar - Week of 8/15/2016 | ||||
| Issuer Business |
Symbol Exchange |
Deal Size $mil |
Price Range Shares Filed |
Lead Managers |
| Highland Acquisition Dallas, TX |
HLACU Nasdaq |
$250 | $10 25,000,000 |
Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. |
| Blank check company formed by the founders of Highland Capital Management. | ||||
| AzurRX Biopharma Brooklyn, NY |
AZRX Nasdaq |
$15 | $6 - $8 2,142,857 |
WallachBeth Capital Network 1 Financial Securities |
| Developing non-systemic biologics for gastrointestinal disorders. | ||||
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Highland Acquisition (HLACU) plans to raise $250 million to acquire established business with positive cash flow in the healthcare, media, telecom, entertainment or energy sectors. The SPAC was formed by James Dondero and Mark Okada, who since 1993 have served as co-founders and executives of Highland Capital Management, an asset manager with $18 billion in AUM.
AzurRx Biopharma (AZRX) will attempt to raise $15 million at a market cap of $77 million. Carved out of ProteaBio in 2014, AzurRx is developing therapies for pancreatic conditions, with a Phase 2b trial scheduled for later this year. Its lead candidate would compete with drugs currently marketed by AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson and Activis. As we noted in the Weekly Recap, 14 biotechs have IPO'd since April 1, and 13 are below issue.
IPO Market Snapshot
The Renaissance IPO Indices are market cap weighted baskets of newly public companies. The Renaissance IPO Index is flat year-to-date, while the S&P 500 is up 8%. Renaissance Capital's IPO ETF (NYSE: IPO) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Alibaba (BABA), Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Citizens Financial Group (CFG). The Renaissance International IPO Index is down 1% year-to-date, compared to +4% for ACWX. Renaissance Capital’s International IPO ETF (NYSE: IPOS) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include NN Group and Aena S.A. To find out if this is the best ETF for you, visit our IPO Investing page.
