It's been a busy year for initial public offering (IPO) investing, and despite recent volatility, it's looking to be a busy fall for the new issues market...
The stock market has remained firm in spite of increasing tensions in the Middle East and the fear of quantitative easing (QE) tapering from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
While the final two weeks of August saw very little activity in pricing of new deals, companies were busy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for offerings to be priced and come to market in September and early October.
It looks like 15 companies have filed for offerings and expect to raise nearly $15 billion in the final week of the third quarter. The steady pace has made it possible for some interesting companies to hit our IPO calendar.
Here's a look at the IPO investing forecast.
Special Analysis: The eight IPOs every investor should watch now - including one big tech-related offering that could cause more stir than Facebook...
IPO Investing in 2013: What's Ahead
Next Wednesday, Sept. 18, we will see an airline IPO that is being offered simultaneously in Mexico and the United States.
Volaris Aviation Holdings (NYSE: VLRS) is an ultra-low-cost carrier, or ULCC, based in Mexico. The company plans to offer low-cost air travel that appeals to deal searchers, cost-conscious business people, and leisure travelers heading to Mexico and select destinations in the United States.
According to the prospectus, it is the lowest-cost airline in Latin America right now.
Since it was founded in 2006, Volaris has increased its routes from 5 to 80 and grown the plane fleet from 4 to 43. The airline currently operates up to 235 daily flight segments on routes that connect 30 cities in Mexico and 10 cities in the United States.
The company will be pricing 28.9 million shares between $12 and $14. The joint managers of the offering will be Deutsche Bank Securities, Morgan Stanley, and UBS Investment Bank.
Wednesday also will see the initial offering of a software company that plans to profit from the "cloud"...
BenefitFocus Inc. (Nasdaq: BNFT) makes a software package that allows employers and insurance carriers to enroll, manage, and exchange benefits information. The Web-based platform will also let insured individuals access all of their benefits and information in one place.
BenefitFocus targets employers with more than 1,000 employees as its favored marketplace. The company also provides marketing to insurance carriers. As of June 30, 2013, it served more than 20 million consumers and had 286 large company customers.
According to the offering prospectus, the proceeds will be used for working capital purposes and other general corporate purposes, including executing the growth strategy, developing new products and services, and funding additional capital expenditures, potential acquisitions, and investments. The company will sell 4.5 million shares between $21.50 and $24.50 a share.
Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank Securities, and Jefferies are the joint mangers of the offering.
Friday Sept. 20 will see the debut offering of ClubCorp (NYSE: MYCC), the largest owner of golf clubs and country clubs as well as business, sports, and alumni clubs in the United States. About 77% of the clubs are golf and country clubs, and the remaining 23% are alumni and sports clubs. The total portfolio of clubs is 152 owned or operated clubs, with more than 147,000 memberships and serving over 360,000 individual members.
The proceeds of the offering will be used to to redeem $145.25 million in aggregate principal amount of Senior Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon, and to pay approximately $14.5 million of redemption premium and make a one-time payment for the termination of the management agreement with their private equity sponsor. It will offer 18 million shares between $16 and $18 in an offering jointly managed by Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Citigroup, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and Deutsche Bank Securities.
Now read: The IPOs to Watch Now - and 3 to Avoid
About the Author
Tim Melvin is an unlikely investment expert by any measure. Raised in the "projects" of Baltimore by a single mother, he never attended college and started out as a door-to-door vacuum salesman. But he knew the real money was in the stock market, so he set sights on investing - and by sheer force of determination, he eventually became a financial advisor to millionaires. Today, after 30 years of managing money for some of the wealthiest people in the world, he draws on his experience to help investors find "unreasonably good" bargain stocks, multiply profits, and build their nest eggs. Tim tirelessly works to find overlooked "hidden gems" in the stock market, drawing on the research of legendary investors like Benjamin Graham, Walter Schloss, and Marty Whitman. He has written and lectured extensively on the markets, with work appearing on Benzinga, Real Money, Daily Speculations, and more. He has published several books in the "Little Book of" Investment Series and a "Junior Chamber Course" geared towards young adults that teaches Graham's principles and techniques to a new generation of investors. Today, he serves as the Special Situations Strategist at Money Morning and the editor of Peak Yield Investor.