The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, Jan. 27, that Facebook could file for an IPO as early as this Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. That set off a media frenzy. It was much like one dog barking at something and the rest of the pack barking at the noise.
If and when Facebook files, a dollar amount will be stated in its initial filing. At a later date, an amendment will be filed stating the proposed number of shares to be offered, at what price range and the number of shares that will be outstanding after the offering. Only then can the offering’s size be determined and only then can the company’s valuation be made. What’s being published now is pure speculation.
Note: The largest IPO to make its debut in the U.S. capital markets was Visa (V) in March 2008. Visa priced 406 million shares at $44 each to raise $17.9 billion, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Visa closed on Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, at $101.05, UP 129.7 percent from its initial offering price.
Also worth noting: A billion-dollar IPO is starting to become commonplace. There were six such offerings last year alone.
The Favorite
This brings us to this week. There are eight IPOs on the calendar. They are looking to raise about $1.3 billion.
AVG Technologies N.V. is reportedly this week’s favorite among the IPO professionals.
AVG Technologies plans to price 8 million shares at $16 to $18 each on Wednesday evening. The IPO is expected to start trading Thursday morning on the New York Stock Exchange under the proposed symbol “AVG.” The joint-lead managers are Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and Goldman, Sachs. The co-managers are Allen & Company, Cowen and JMP Securities.
The company offers anti-virus, backup, performance optimization, server protection and remote administration products to over 106 million users in the consumer and small business market.
For the three months ending Sept. 30, 2011, AVG reported net income of $13.8 million on revenues of $71.2 million, compared with net income of $6.7 million on revenues of $53.8 million for the same period a year ago. Founded in 1991, AVG has about 805 employees. The company is based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. It has offices in the Czech Republic, Cyprus, the U.K., Germany, France and in the United States.
AVG Technologies plans to offer 4 million shares and selling shareholders plan to offer 4 million shares. The company expects to have about 53.8 million shares outstanding after the offering.
There are three IPOs on this week’s calendar from the oil and gas industry: Dynamic Offshore Resources (DOR – proposed), Matador Resources (MTDR – proposed) and Platinum Energy Solutions (FRAC – proposed). But some have been focusing on what they think could be a sleeper.
The Sleeper
The IPO professionals say Greenway Medical Technologies could be a dark horse on this week’s calendar.
Greenway Medical Technologies plans to price 6.7 million shares at $11 to $13 each on Wednesday evening. The IPO is expected to start trading Thursday morning on the New York Stock Exchange under the proposed symbol “GWAY.” The joint-lead managers are J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and William Blair. The co-managers are Piper Jaffray and Raymond James.
Greenway’s technology solutions and services are for the needs of providers in ambulatory settings, such as independent physician practices, multi-specialty group practices, hospital-affiliated and hospital-owned clinics and practices, retail clinics and employer clinics, as well as university health centers. The company’s single database technology platform is available in either a cloud-based or premise-based model. It is scalable to serve the needs of ambulatory providers of any size.
For the three months ending Sept. 30, 2011, Greenway reported a net loss of $406,000 on revenues of $25.7 million, compared with a net loss of $1.9 million on revenues of $16.5 million for the same period a year ago. Founded in 1998, Greenway has about 530 employees. It is based in Carrollton, Georgia.
Greenway Medical Technologies plans to offer 5.4 million shares and selling shareholders plan to offer 1.3 million shares. The company expects to have about 27.5 million shares outstanding after the offering.
Whatever happens with this week’s calendar, everybody will be watching the SEC filing window on Wednesday for Facebook to do its long-awaited thing.
That news will overshadow everything else.
Stay tuned.
Disclosure: Neither the author nor anyone else on the IPOScoop.com staff has a position in any stocks mentioned, nor do they trade or invest in IPOs. The author and IPOScoop.com staff do not issue advice, recommendations or opinions.