Two are from the oil well services sector and the other one is from the financial sector. They are Forum Energy Technologies, MRC Global and Oaktree Capital Group.
What do they have in common? A cynic might say all three are in the liquidity business.
From Houston with Love
Forum Energy Technologies plans to price 15.8 million shares at $18 to $20 each on Wednesday evening. The IPO is expected to start trading on Thursday morning on the New York Stock Exchange under the proposed symbol “FET.” The joint-lead managers are J.P. Morgan, BofA Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank Securities.
Based in Houston, Forum Energy is a global oilfield products company that services the subsea, drilling, completion, production and infrastructure sectors of the oil and natural gas industry. The company also designs and manufactures products and engages in aftermarket services, parts supply and related services that complement its products. Forum was formed in 1989. It has about 3,150 employees.
The company plans to offer about 13.2 million shares and selling shareholders plan to offer about 2.6 million shares. Forum Energy expects to have about 84 million shares outstanding after the offering.
MRC Global plans to price 22.7 million shares at $21 to $23 each on Wednesday evening. Its IPO is expected to start trading on Thursday morning on the New York Stock Exchange under the proposed symbol “MRC.” The joint-lead managers are Goldman Sachs and Barclays.
Based in Houston, MRC Global believes it is the world’s largest industrial supplier of pipes, valves, fittings and related products and services to the energy industry. The company services customers from more than 40 branch locations throughout Europe, Asia and Australia with distribution centers in the United Kingdom and Singapore. Formed in 2006, the company has about 4,000 employees.
MRC Global plans to offer about 17 million shares and selling shareholders plan to offer about 5.7 million shares. MRC Global expects to have about 101.5 million shares outstanding after the offering.
Industrial Sector:
Forum Energy and MRC Global are components of the Dow Jones U.S. Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution Index. It has been a laggard this year. On Thursday, April 5, the investment services index was up 21.8 percent for the year versus an 11.2 percent gain by the S&P 500 Index.
Shaking the Money Tree
Oaktree Capital Group plans to price 11.3 million shares at $43 to $46 each on Wednesday evening. Its IPO is expected to start trading on Thursday morning on the New York Stock Exchange under the proposed symbol “OAK.” The joint-lead managers are Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley
Based in Los Angeles, Oaktree Capital is a global investment management firm focused on alternative markets. The company believes it is an expert in credit and contrarian value-oriented investing. Distressed debt made up about 32 percent of Oaktree’s assets under management, as of Dec. 31, 2011, according to its prospectus. Several of Oaktree’s senior investment professionals began investing together in high-yield bonds (aka junk bonds) in 1986 and convertible securities in 1987. Oaktree’s clients include 73 of the 100 largest U.S. pension plans. Formed in 1995, Oaktree has about 653 employees.
Oaktree Capital plans to offer about 10.3 million shares and selling shareholders plan to offer about 1 million shares. Oaktree expects to have about 33 million shares outstanding after the offering.
Industrial Sector:
Oaktree Capital is a component of the Dow Jones U.S. Investment Services Index. It has been an outperformer this year. On Thursday, April 5, the investment services index was up 21.8 percent for the year versus an 11.2 percent gain by the S&P 500 Index.
Rounding out this week’s offerings are two new faces on the calendar, Aleris (ARS – proposed), a provider of aluminum rolled and extruded products, and BrightSource Energy (BRSE – proposed), a solar thermal technology company, and three carryovers from last week.
Worth remembering: If this week’s IPO menu looks too plain vanilla, don’t fret. This is Wall Street, where anything can happen.
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