The lull in the IPO market will soon fade as 2015's biggest upcoming IPOs to watch hit the market during the fourth quarter.
So far, the 2015 IPO market has been abnormally slow compared to last year. There have only been 131 deals so far this year, down nearly 40% from the same period in 2014.
But according to Renaissance Capital, a manager of IPO-focused ETFs, several high-profile IPOs are expected to debut between October and December.
Here are the five most anticipated upcoming IPOs to watch in the fourth quarter...
Upcoming IPOs to Watch in Q4 2015
Upcoming IPOs to Watch No. 1: Digicel Group Ltd. (NYSE: DCEL) is a provider of wireless and business communication services in the Caribbean. With more than 14 million subscribers, the Bermuda-based company is one of the largest mobile providers in the Caribbean region.
Digicel posted $2.8 billion in revenue from March 2014 to March 2015. But in the last year, the company swung from a profit of $44 million to a loss of $158 million. Digicel will raise $1.8 billion by selling 124 million shares at a $13 to $16 price range. It's valued at $4.6 billion and will hit the market on Thursday, Oct. 8.
Upcoming IPOs to Watch No. 2: Univision Holdings Inc. operates the largest portfolio of Spanish-language media platforms in the United States. According to the IPO filing, Univision controls more than 60 local TV stations, radio, digital, and mobile properties. The company taps into the burgeoning Hispanic-American demographic - a group expected to grow by 35% over the next 15 years.
In 2007, Univision was taken private for $13.7 billion. Since then, the company has had trouble staying profitable. It posted $2.9 billion in revenue last year, while its total debt load was $10.7 billion as of last March. Univision filed for an IPO on July 2 and is expected to raise at least $1 billion.
Here are three more upcoming IPOs to watch, including a luxury-fashion retailer and massive grocery chain...
Upcoming IPOs to Watch No. 3: Neiman Marcus Group Inc. has been a leader in luxury department store retailing for over a century. The company is known for its upscale European clothing like $2,000 Balenciaga handbags and $800 Manolo Blahnik shoes. In addition to its 41 U.S. locations, Neiman Marcus owns New York-based clothing store Bergdorf Goodman and Germany-based online retailer MyTheresa.com.
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The company posted $4.8 billion in revenue last year and $1.2 billion in sales last quarter. It targets the exploding luxury-fashion market, expected to grow from $308 billion this year to $354 billion by 2019. Neiman Marcus submitted its IPO filing on Aug. 4 and is expected to generate at least $800 million.
Upcoming IPOs to Watch No. 4: First Data Corp. provides e-commerce and payment processing to financial institutions. The electronic payment company processes trillions of dollars worth of credit and debit card transactions for large and small businesses. That makes its performance highly dependent on consumer spending. First Data was taken private in 2007 for roughly $26 billion in order to pay off the company's $21 billion in debt.
The firm posted $11 billion in sales from March 2014 to March 2015. First Data could raise up to $5 billion, making it the largest IPO of 2015. That would give it a massive $20 billion valuation.
Upcoming IPOs to Watch No. 5: Albertsons Companies Inc. (NYSE: ABS) is the second-largest grocery chain in the United States behind Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR). Last March, Albertsons acquired grocery chain Safeway Inc. for $9.4 billion. The deal brought the two together in an effort to deal with fierce competition from discounters like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).
For the year ended in February 2015, Albertsons posted losses of $1.2 billion on sales of $27.2 billion. The company filed to go public on July 8 and is expected to raise up to $1.8 billion.
Alex McGuire is an associate editor for Money Morning who writes about upcoming IPOs. Follow him on Twitter for all of the biggest IPO updates.
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