IPO Calendar 2013: Three Sweet Deals for February

The IPO market is off to a solid start in 2013, with more upcoming opportunities to mark on your IPO calendar.

There have been several successful offerings so far this year that have rewarded investors with quick profits. Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (NYSE: BFAM) was priced last month at $22 a share, and has delivered a 27% gain already. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (Nasdaq: NCLH) was priced at $19 in mid-January and has already soared 39%.

The number of deals so far has been fairly small, but investors' appetite for IPOs remains strong as we move into February.

IPO Calendar 2013: Three February Deals to Watch

The first week of the month has several interesting offerings that should attract investor attention. Here are three investors should check out.

Boise Cascade LLC (NYSE: BCC): The first is the market return of wood products manufacturer and building products distributor Boise Cascade LLC. The firm was taken private in 2004 in a leveraged buyout (LBO) by private equity firm Madison Dearborn for $43.7 billion.

The company sells its products to home improvement stores, lumberyards and distributors in the United States and Canada and is one of the largest in its field. The offering comes just as the U.S. housing market begins to show signs of improvement and could be well received by institutional investors looking to capitalize on developing trends in real estate markets.

The company is offering 11.8 million shares with an expected pricing range of $16 to $18 a share. At the midpoint of the range Boise Cascade will realize approximately $200 million to pay down debt and use for general corporate purposes.

Shares are expected to come to market Feb. 6, and will trade on the NYSE under the symbol BCC. Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs are the lead underwriters of the offering.

National Commercial Bank of Jamaica (NYSE: NCJ): U.S. trading for the National Commercial Bank of Jamaica will start on Feb 7. The company trades on the Jamaican Exchange, but has not traded here in the United States until now.

The bank is the largest banking and financial services company in Jamaica with more than 30% market share. The bank offers a wider range of products and financial services including wealth management, structured and trade finance, credit cards, foreign exchange, wealth management and insurance to individuals, corporations and government entities in Jamaica.

Over the past five years the bank has grown earnings and assets by more than 8% annually while shareholder equity has compounded at more than 18%. The return on equity is 24%, well above similar banks in the United States. They are also the dominant presence in the payments market with a 67% share of the point of sale systems in Jamaica.

This offering, however, won't fit everyone's investment objectives, so make sure it's what you're looking for. The risk factors here include a very weak Jamaican economy, a very high level of public debt to gross domestic product (GDP), as well as a heavy economic dependence on the United States, the U.K. and Canada. The bank also has a controlling shareholder, Lee-Chin, who is able to control the actions of the board via his post-offering 43% ownership in the bank.

JPMorgan and Macquarie Capital are the deal's lead underwriters. The shares will trade on the NYSE with the symbol NCJ once the deal is complete.

QGOG Constellation S.A. (NYSE: QGOG): The largest offering of the week will come to market Feb. 8 with QGOG Constellation S.A.

The company provides contract offshore drilling services in Brazil. It's one of the ten largest drillers in the world and is well positioned to benefit from recent large oil discoveries off the Brazilian coast. It also has onshore rigs and offers floating production, storage and offloading services.

The company has a long-term relationship with Petrobras (NYSE ADR: PBR) that has helped it work through its backlog of drilling projects in the past year. The company is selling 27.5 million shares with a price range of $19 to $21 and expects to raise $664 million at the midpoint of the range.

Investors hope QGOG will end the two-year energy IPO draught in Brazil, where previous energy industry IPOs have sometimes failed to deliver.

"When those other oil companies came to the market, expectations around them were too optimistic, so in the years that followed the IPOs, shares plunged even with companies improving their operations," Roberto Altenhofen, an oil and gas analyst at Sao Paulo-based consulting firm Empiricus Research, told Bloomberg News. "QGOG is not a startup. It has a track record that can be checked by everyone, and may have better chances in doing a successful IPO."

Shares will trade on the NYSE under the symbol QGOG. Bank of America, Credit Suisse and three other banks are doing the underwriting services.

The 2013 IPO calendar is starting to fill up; look for more quality deals as the year progresses.

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