The IPO market continues to heat up with six deals on the calendar aiming to raise $1.7 billion in the first week of May. They include three biotechs, two energy companies and one mortgage REIT. This April was the busiest month for IPOs in almost two years, and the month of May typically averages a few more deals than April.
| US IPO Calendar - Week of May 1st | ||||
| Issuer Business |
Symbol Exchange |
Deal Size($m) Market Cap($m) |
Price Range Shares Filed |
Top Bookrunners |
| Antero Midstream GP LP Denver, CO |
AMGP NYSE |
$875 $4,375 |
$22.00 - 25.00 37,250,000 |
Morgan Stanley Barclays |
| Owns GP interests in Appalachian midstream MLP Antero Midstream Partners. | ||||
| Biohaven Pharmaceuticals New Haven, CT |
BHVN NYSE |
$125 $546 |
$14.00 - 16.00 8,333,333 |
Morgan Stanley Piper Jaffray |
| Developing treatments for migraine and neurological disorders. | ||||
| Liberty Oilfield Services Denver, CO |
BDFC NYSE |
$400 $2,238 |
$16.00 - 19.00 22,857,144 |
Morgan Stanley Goldman Sachs |
| Provides hydraulic fracturing services for the oil and gas industry. | ||||
| UroGen Pharma Israel |
URGN Nasdaq |
$45 $166 |
$12.00 - 14.00 3,461,538 |
Jefferies Cowen & Co. |
| Developing formulations of a chemotherapy to treat urological cancers. | ||||
| KKR Real Estate Finance Trust New York, NY |
KREF NYSE |
$210 $1,091 |
$20.50 - 21.50 10,000,000 |
Wells Fargo Morgan Stanley |
| KKR-managed mortgage REIT focused on commercial real estate debt. | ||||
| Ovid Therapeutics New York, NY |
OVID Nasdaq |
$80 $428 |
$15.00 - 17.00 5,000,000 |
Citi Cowen & Co. |
| Clinical-stage biotech developing treatments for rare neurological disorders. | ||||
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It's a gas: Antero spins out its midstream GP
Antero Midstream GP LP's (AMGP) $875 million IPO should make it the year's third-largest offering, raising more than this week's other five IPOs combined. E&P parent Antero Resources will sell the entire deal, carving out its GP interests in natural gas gathering MLP (and 2014 IPO) Antero Midstream Partners LP (AM). This GP's IPO is essentially a levered play on the Appalachian MLP's distributions; similar transactions were last seen in May 2015 from Tallgrass Energy GP (TEGP) and EQT Holding GP (EQGP). While investors will have to wait a few years for this IPO's distributions to ramp up, recent midstream yield plays have done well, such as Hess Midstream Partners LP (HESM; 11%) earlier this month and Noble Midstream Partners LP (NBLX; 117%) last year.
Is this the Best Damn Fracking Company?
Basing its ticker (BDFC) on a boastful claim, Liberty Oilfield Services is looking to raise $400 million. Backed by Riverstone and Carlyle, its fleet is 100% utilized, and it saw revenue climb 62% to $252 million in the first quarter. However, its IPO follows two other fracking companies, Keane Group (FRAC; -24%) and ProPetro (PUMP; -3%), both now trading below their offer prices.
KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (KREF) plans to raise $210 million. Formed by KKR in 2014, it holds a portfolio of commercial real estate debt, and paid a $0.28 dividend in the 1Q17 (implied 5.3% yield). The company generated revenue of $41 million in 2016, and is greatly expanding its portfolio by raising money in the IPO and drawing down capital commitments.
Biotech Blitz: Three biotech IPOs
Biohaven Pharmaceuticals (BHVN) hopes to raise $125 million (insiders buying 56%) in the year's largest biotech IPO. It is developing a migraine therapy that can be used by patients with high blood pressure, which would greatly expand the $2 billion market, an opportunity that several others are also targeting. Urogen Pharma (URGN), which is developing a gel-based chemotherapy for urological cancers, plans to raise $45 million, with insiders taking down 44%. Ovid Therapeutics (OVID) is aiming for a $80 million offering; the rare neurological disease biotech disclosed 25% insider buying.
IPO Market Snapshot
The Renaissance IPO Indices are market cap weighted baskets of newly public companies. The Renaissance IPO Index is up 15.0% year-to-date, far outperforming the S&P 500's 6.5%. Renaissance Capital's IPO ETF (NYSE: IPO) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Ferrari (RACE) and TransUnion (TRU). The Renaissance International IPO Index is up 12.1% year-to-date, while the ACWX is up 11.7%. Renaissance Capital’s International IPO ETF (NYSE: IPOS) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Covestro and Worldpay. To find out if this is the best ETF for you, visit our IPO Investing page.
