The US IPO market continued to see healthy levels of activity this week with four companies completing their offerings and another five specifying terms for their upcoming deals.
Fast fashion retailer Body Central (BODY) raised $65 million in its IPO by offering 5 million shares at $13, below its proposed range of $14-$16. The specialty retailer, which offers value-priced apparel to women in their teens and twenties, plans to expand its current base of 204 stores by roughly 15% annually over the next several years. Body Central was originally founded in Jacksonville, Florida and run as a family business until it was bought out by private equity firms WestView Capital and PineBridge Investments in 2006. The stock climbed as much as 4% in morning trading before closing flat after listing on the NASDAQ on Friday.
Auto supplier Tower International (TOWR) was also met with initial pricing pressure, pricing its deal well below its original range of $15-$17 at $13 per share and raising $81 million. The company traded off slightly after listing on the NYSE on Friday, with the cyclical nature of its business and leveraged balance sheet likely contributing to lackluster demand. Tower International, which manufactures structural metal components and assemblies for automotive OEMs in Europe and North America, is also private-equity backed with Cerberus owning a 61% post-IPO stake. Both Body Central and Tower International closed on Friday at their IPO price.
Student housing REIT Campus Crest Communities (CCG) priced 28.3 million shares at $12.50 per share on Wednesday after pushing its pricing date back from late September. The REIT, which develops, builds, owns and manages high-quality campus student housing properties, had originally set a range of $12.50-$14.50 and saw its stock trade mostly flat during the week.
By comparison, REITs lacking operating histories have struggled recently with their IPOs: newly formed senior housing facility REIT Legacy Healthcare Properties Trust (LRP) and government properties REIT US Federal Properties Trust (USFP) both shelved their IPO plans this week.
Special purpose acquisition company HICKS Acquisition II (HKACU) raising $150 million this week. The SPAC offered 15 million units at $10 with each unit consisting of one common share and one warrant with a $12 exercise price. HICKS' offering follows last week's $40 million deal by Cazador Acquisition Corporation, a blank check company organized by executives of Arco Capital Management.
There are six deals slated on the US IPO calendar for next week, which include prepaid debit card company NetSpend (NTSP) and handbag designer Vera Bradley (VRA). If all deals scheduled on the calendar for the month of October are successfully priced, it will be the busiest month for US IPOs since December 2007.
