An Asia-Pacific trip is in the IPO cards for August. As the IPO Calendar flips the page to August this week, the wind is blowing in from the Asia-Pacific region. Five of the seven micro-cap IPOs on tap so far for pricing this week and next have ties to Asia-Pacific countries – China, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Pakistan.
Bankers expect to raise about $56 million from five micro-cap IPOs scheduled for pricing during the week of July 31, 2023. As for the following week – the week of Aug. 7, 2023: About $16.8 million may be raised from two tiny IPOs on the pricing roster.
The beginning of August traditionally marks the countdown to the IPO market’s end-of-summer break. The seasonal slowdown usually sets in around Aug. 15 and runs until the day after Labor Day, which falls on Monday, Sept. 4, this year. Sometimes the break stretches until the week after the Labor Day holiday.
The slow traffic shortly after sunrise on Monday (July 31, 2023) at the SEC’s filing window gave a hint that the IPO machinery is getting ready for its August siesta.
Let’s take a look at the August IPO Calendar for this week and next – organized by pricing and trading dates. Some of these deals have slipped on and off the IPO Calendar in previous weeks.
Five micro-cap IPOs are expected to price this week.
Pricing Monday night, July 31, to trade Tuesday, Aug. 1:
Cheetah Net Supply Chain Service, Inc. (CTNT proposed), which supplies customers in China with Mercedes-Benz, BMW and other luxury cars through its U.S.-based business, plans to offer 1.25 million shares at $4.00 to $6.00 to raise $6.25 million. Maxim Group is the sole book-runner.
Cheetah was slightly profitable for 2022, according to the prospectus.
Fitell Corp. (FTEL proposed), an Australian online fitness equipment retailer, plans to offer 3.0 million shares at $5.00 to $6.00 to raise $16.5 million. Revere Securities and R.F. Lafferty & Co. are the joint book-runners.
Fitell sells its gym and fitness equipment online under its proprietary brands, which include Gym Direct, Muscle Motion, Rapid Motion and FleetX. The company also sells some products in brick-and-mortar stores. Fitell was nominally profitable for the year that ended June 30, 2022, the prospectus says.
Pixie Dust Technologies, Inc. (PXDT proposed), a Japanese personal care and spatial technology products company, plans to offer 2.0 million American Depositary Shares (ADS) at $9.00 to $10.00 to raise $19.0 million. Boustead Securities is the sole book-runner. Cornerstone investors are in for up to $8.1 million, the prospectus says.
Pixie Dust Technologies, Inc. has launched three personal care products since November 2022: SonoRepro, an ultrasonic scalp-stimulation device; Vuevo, a line of directional voice arrival detection devices for people who are deaf or hearing impaired, and kikippa, an acoustic stimulation device that functions as a speaker. Pixie Dust also launched a workspace product called iwasemi, a sound-absorbing material for offices, in March 2023.
The Japanese company reported a net loss for the year that ended Oct. 31, 2022, according to the prospectus.
Pricing Thursday night to Trade Friday, Aug. 4:
SRM Entertainment (SRM proposed), a Jupiter, Florida-based toy and theme park souvenir company, plans to offer 1.25 million shares at $5.00 to raise $6.25 million. EF Hutton is the sole book-runner.
SRM Entertainment develops, manufactures and supplies the entertainment and amusement park industry with exclusive products that are often available only to consumers visiting venues such as Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, Six Flags, Great Wolf Lodge, Dollywood and Merlin Entertainment.
The U.S. company was profitable for the 12 months that ended March 31, 2023, according to the prospectus.
Pricing the Week of July 31, 2023:
Opti-Harvest (OPHV proposed), a Los Angeles-based company whose innovative agricultural products harness the power of sunlight, plans to offer 1.93 million units at $4.15 to raise $8.01 million in its tiny IPO. WestPark Capital is the sole book-runner. Each unit consists of one share of stock and one warrant to buy a share.
Opti-Harvest’s products are backed by a portfolio of patented and patent pending technologies. Its technologies are focused on maximizing crop yield, accelerating crop growth, optimizing land and water resources, reducing labor costs and mitigating negative environmental impact.
The California company reported a net loss on minimal revenue for the 12 months that ended Sept. 30, 2022, the prospectus says.
Week of Aug. 7, 2023
Only two tiny IPOs have been set for pricing so far next week – the week of Aug. 7, 2023, which also is the first full trading week in August. Here are the details on these micro-cap deals, organized by pricing and trading date:
Pricing Monday night, Aug. 7, to trade Tuesday, Aug. 8:
Hanryu Holdings (HRYU proposed), a Seoul-based fandom culture and e-commerce company, plans to offer just 877,328 shares at $10.00 each to raise $8.77 million in its tiny IPO. Aegis Capital is the sole book-runner.
Hanryu Holdings says that its fans are part of the South Korean-focused “Korea Wave” of pop culture. The company also says that it aims to provide “an all-inclusive online global playground for fans, where they can consume, create and get rewarded for all things related to their fandom within our FANTOO platform, an engaging and innovative social media platform that connects users around the world that (who) share similar interests.” Its fandom platform includes e-commerce.
Hanryu Holdings was unprofitable for the 12 months that ended Sept. 30, 2022, the prospectus says.
Pricing Wednesday night, Aug. 9, to trade Thursday, Aug. 10:
Gamer Pakistan (GPAK proposed) plans to offer 1.7 million shares at $4.00 to $5.00 to raise $8.0 million in its IPO. WestPark Capital is the sole book-runner.
Gamer Pakistan, based in Henderson, Nevada, is a development-stage company focused on interactive esports event promotion and product marketing. The company, founded in November 2021, reported a net loss of about $310,000 on no revenue for 2022, the prospectus says.
“Our initial focus is on creating college, inter-university and professional esports events for both men’s and women’s teams, particularly esports opportunities with colleges and universities in Pakistan,” the prospectus says.
Pakistan is a large market for esports, according to the prospectus. Pakistan, with a population of 231 million, is the fifth most populous country in the world. The country has about 3.2 million students in secondary education ranging from vocational and technical schools to universities. The median age is 27.8. About 37 million Pakistanis played video games in 2022. About 80 percent of the population has a mobile phone subscription.
Looking Back at Late July
IPO bankers raised $359.05 million by pricing six deals in the last week of July. Two SPAC IPOs – Keen Vision Acquisition Corp. (KVACU), $130 million, and Haymaker Acquisition Corp. 4 (HYAC.U), $200 million – accounted for the lion’s share of the week’s dollar volume. The Fed, as expected, raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to the target range of 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent – the highest level in 22 years.
Four micro-cap IPOs – two from Japan, one from Israel and one from Boca Raton, Florida – produced a combined $29.05 million in proceeds. Two of the four micro-cap IPOs were among several tiny deals that were delayed last September when the NASDAQ brought small-cap deals almost to a halt. On or around Sept. 19, 2022, NASDAQ stepped up its scrutiny of these offerings after some had surged astronomically on their first days of trading.
The first direct listing of 2023 did not produce a home run, by any standards. This was the first direct listing since Warby Parker in late 2021. Surf Air Mobility Inc. (SRFM) started trading on the New York Stock Exchange late on Thursday afternoon (July 27, 2023) at $5.00 – 75 percent below its NYSE reference price. The stock closed Thursday at about $3.15. At Friday’s closing bell, Surf Air Mobility’s stock was at $2.55, down 87.5 percent from its reference price.
Surf Air Mobility offers an online platform to book regional charter flights. The Hawthorne, California-based company is merging with Southern Airways, a regional airline. The company also plans to electrify its fleet of small planes. Surf Air Mobility says in the prospectus that the FAA has not yet approved its hybrid and electric planes.
A direct listing does not have underwriters. This type of listing, in which new stock is not issued, relies on financial advisors.
The team of financial advisors for Surf Air Mobility’s NYSE direct listing was led by Morgan Stanley. Rounding out the lineup of financial advisors: Canaccord Genuity, Moelis & Co., Baird and Sanford Bernstein.
(For more information about these companies, please check the IPO Calendar and the individual IPO Profiles found on IPOScoop.com’s website.)
Note: Never trade on proposed symbols. They have been known to change and you might buy something on the OTC Bulletin Board.
To see what time the NASDAQ IPOs are expected to trade, please log in to: NASDAQTrader.com then scroll down to IPO Message.
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