Bankers plan to price nine deals. They are looking to raise $2.1 billion. Admittedly, it looks like a bit of an ambitious calendar in view of the underlying stock market, but maybe not.
Three are “blank check” deals, which seem to be finding homes in the stock market’s current climate. Four of this year’s five IPOs have been “blank check” companies. (IPOs Just Priced for details.)
In addition, there’s a carryover from past weeks – BioHeat (Nasdaq: BHRT proposed), which has been sharply cut in size. And there are five new faces at the IPO window.
Everyone Loves a Risk Barometer
But what’s an IPO calendar without a favorite?
RiskMetrics Group (NYSE: RMG proposed) is on everybody’s “Most Wanted” list.
The New York City-based company was originally formed in 1998 to provide a measurement of market risk in portfolios –- not a bad idea, given today’s market conditions. Since then, RiskMetrics has expanded its services to include corporate governance, compliance, accounting, legal, transactional, environmental and social risks.
If numbers are a sign of success, then RiskMetrics has hit upon the magic formula. Take a look at the following figures:
For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2007, RiskMetrics reported revenues of $172.7 million, UP 129.3 percent from revenues of $75.3 million for the same period a year ago.
For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2007, RiskMetrics reported adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $51.3 million, UP 117.4 percent from adjusted EBITDA of $23.6 million for the same period a year ago.
For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2007, RiskMetrics reported income from operations of $28.5 million, UP 68.6 percent from income from operations of $16.9 million for the same period a year ago.
For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2007, RiskMetrics reported net income of $1.2 million, (after an interest expense deduction of $27.9 million) compared with net income of $12.3 million for the same period a year ago.
Bankers plan to price 14 million shares of RiskMetrics at $17 to $19 each to raise $252 million on Thursday evening and to trade in Friday’s market.
Nevertheless, the wild and wooly gyrations of this week’s stock market will dominate the financial news. And, maybe, by the time Friday rolls around, we’ll have an IPO market.