This week is the IPO calendar’s final summer run – or for fans of the late disco diva Donna Summer, it’s the “Last Dance” before Labor Day. Five deals are set, with bankers expecting to raise a little over $550 million. Then there is nothing on tap until after Labor Day, which falls on Sept. 7 this year.
This is a seasonal slowdown for the IPO market. Traffic historically stops from mid-August until mid-September. Having said that, let’s take a look at the recent past:
- In 2014 the IPO traffic was over by Aug. 13 and came back to life by Sept. 12, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
- In 2013 the IPO traffic was over by Aug. 15 and came back by Sept. 12.
- In 2012 the IPO traffic was over by Aug. 15 and came back by Sept. 19.
- In 2011 the IPO traffic was over by Aug. 16 and came back by Oct. 13 – yes, October 13th.
- In 2010 the IPO traffic was over by Aug. 12 and came back by Sept. 16.
- In 2015, the traffic looks like it will be over by Aug. 13, and we’ll have to wait until September for the next IPO to make its appearance on the calendar.
Insurance, Drugs and Money
Among the five IPO hopefuls on this week’s calendar, the three new faces are involved in the business of insurance, drugs or money: Conifer Holdings (CNFR – proposed), Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT – proposed) and Houlihan Lokey (HLI – proposed). There is also one carryover from last week. The other deal is a small-cap offering.
Conifer Holdings, based in Birmingham, Michigan, offers non-commoditized property and casualty insurance coverage in both specialty commercial and specialty personal product lines. Its commercial lines, which include policies for restaurants, wineries and nightclubs, accounted for about 65 percent of its net earned premiums for the three months ended March 31, 2015, while its personal lines (homeowner’s and renter’s policies) represented about 35 percent. The company has a network of more than 4,500 independent agents who distribute its policies from 2,200 sales offices writing business in 44 states. Founded in 2009, Conifer reported net income allocable to common shareholders of $250,000 on gross written premiums of $21.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015, versus a net loss allocable to common shareholders of $3.2 million on gross written premiums of $17.7 million for the year-ago period. Bankers plan to price 4.6 million shares at $11 to $13 each on Tuesday evening to trade on the NASDAQ on Wednesday morning.
(For more information, please click here: Conifer Holdings)
Global Blood Therapeutics, based in South San Francisco, California, is a biopharmaceutical company developing its initial product candidate, GBT440, as a once daily, oral prophylactic therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD). In addition to GBT440 to treat SCD, Global Blood is leveraging its scientific expertise in the chemical and biological mechanisms of blood-based disorders to target hypoxemic pulmonary disorders and hereditary angioedema. Founded in 2011, Global Blood has reported no revenues and no insiders are planning to buy shares of the IPO. The company has no collaborators. It reported an accumulated deficit of $57.7 million as of March 31, 2015, according to its prospectus. Bankers plan to price 6 million shares at $16 to $18 each on Tuesday evening to trade on the NASDAQ on Wednesday morning.
(For more information, please click here: Global Blood Therapeutics)
Houlihan Lokey, based in Los Angeles, is a global independent investment bank operating in three segments: Corporate Finance, Financial Restructuring and Financial Advisory Services. The company serves its clients through 17 offices in the United States, Europe and Asia, and another three offices through its joint ventures in Australia, Singapore and India. Its global client base includes Fortune 500 corporations, financial sponsors and government agencies.Founded in 1972, Houlihan reported net income of $15.1 million on fee revenue of $146.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2015, versus net income of $14.4 million on fee revenue of $141.5 million for the same period a year ago. Bankers plan to price 13.1 million shares of Class A common stock at $22 to $24 each on Wednesday evening to trade on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday morning. Note: Insiders are sellers of all 13.1 million shares of Class A common stock. The company will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the stock.
(For more information, please click here: Houlihan Lokey)
This should wrap up the Summer of 2015 for the IPO market, but stay tuned. Something always happens.
Disclosure: Neither the author nor anyone else on the IPOScoop.com staff has a position in any stocks mentioned, nor do we trade or invest in IPOs. The author and IPOScoop.com staff do not issue advice, recommendations or opinions.