Two profitable and growing technology companies are on the IPO calendar this week: Convio (CNVO), a provider of on-demand marketing software tailored for nonprofit organizations, and Alpha and Omega Semiconductor (AOSL), a leading supplier of power management chips for laptops, flat panel displays and a variety of consumer electronic devices. While both stand to benefit from investors' craving for profitable growth, Alpha and Omega is the larger of the two and is could generate the most interest given its direct exposure to key pockets of the chip industry where demand is surging and supply remains constrained.
Founded in 2000 by a trio of engineers from power chip company Siliconix, Alpha & Omega is a fast-growing supplier of chips that improve power efficiency and extend battery life in products such as notebook PCs, flat panel displays, mobile battery packs and digital cameras. The company has leveraged a strong design team, proprietary process and packaging technologies and a semi-fabless model (testing and packaging for many of its chips are done in-house) to produce chips with lower costs and greater performance than its competitors, which include larger chip companies such as Fairchild Semiconductor (FCS), International Rectifier (IRF), On Semiconductor (ONNN) and STMicro (STM).
Alpha and Omega plans to raise $91 million by selling 5.1 million shares at a range of $17-$19 per share. At the $18 midpoint, the company will command a market capitalization of $442 million and an enterprise value of $328 million (netting out post-IPO cash of $114 million). The company plans to list on the NASDAQ with pricing slated for Wednesday, April 28 after the market close. Deutsche Bank Securities, Piper Jaffray, Thomas Weisel and Caris & Company are underwriting the offering.
Read our full IPO Commentary on Alpha and Omega Semiconductor.
