Thursday

Yordanka
18 Jun, 2006
New York City

This week

96 initial public offerings have been priced so far this year as of June 16, 2006:

- 43 IPOs are currently trading above initial offering price;
- 51 are trading below the offering price;
- and 2 are trading at their offer price.

Six IPOs were priced during the week of June 12th, 2006. There are four deals scheduled to be priced during the coming week, hoping to raise more than $1 billion.

IPO PERFORMANCE

ADVANCERS:

VeraSun Energy Corporation ((VSE)) priced its initial public offering of 18.25 million shares of its common stock at $23 per share on Wednesday. The IPO price came above the expected range of $21 - $22 a share and raised about $420 million.

Of all the shares, the company was selling 11 million while selling shareholders were selling 7.25 million shares.

In addition, certain of the selling shareholders have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 2.7 million additional shares at the initial public offering price.

Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers were the lead managers of this offering, with A.G. Edwards was serving as the co-manager.

VeraSun Energy is the second largest ethanol producer in the U.S. based on production capacity, behind agribusiness company Archer Daniels Midland Co. ((ADM)). The company has two operational production facilities in Aurora, South Dakota and Fort Dodge, Iowa and is constructing a third facility in Charles City, Iowa.

The company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to finance a portion of the construction costs of two additional ethanol production facilities in the upper Midwest, with the balance expected to come from cash-on-hand and cash generated from operations during the construction period.

VeraSun's total revenue has been growing steadily in recent years, more than doubling to $110.7 million in the first quarter, compared to the same period a year ago. Net income rose 62% to $2.7 million during the same period.

The company’s shares closed at $25.25 on Friday, up 9.8% from the initial offering price.

Houston Wire & Cable Co. ((HWCC)) priced an initial public offering worth $110.5 million on Wednesday, at the midpoint of the forecast range.

The 8.5 million share offering, which represents about 41% of the company, sold for $13 a share, compared with a forecast of between $12 - $14 per share.

The company issued 4.25 million shares, while existing company stockholders offered the remaining 4.25 million shares.

William Blair and Robert W Baird were the lead underwriters on the deal.

Houston Wire is a distributor of specialty wire and cable and related services in the United States. This is the company''s second IPO. It went public in 1987 before being acquired two years later by Alltel Corp. ((AT)). In 1997, the company was acquired by private equity specialist Code Hennessy & Simmons LLC, which is selling part of its stake in the company in the IPO.

The company’s shares closed at $15.37 on Friday, up 18.2% from the initial offering price.

The public offering of Verigy Ltd. ((VRGY)) was priced at $15 a share on Wednesday, below the forecasted range of $16 - $18 per share.

The 8.5 million share offering was worth $127.5 million.

All of the shares are being sold by the company.

In addition Verigy has granted the underwriters an option to purchase 1.3 million additional shares to cover over-allotments.

Goldman Sachs acted as lead manager; Credit Suisse was co-lead manager, while SG Cowen and Thomas Weisel acted as co-managers.

Verigy, which makes advanced test systems for the semiconductor industry, was organized in Singapore this year, and is a wholly owned subsidiary if Agilent Technologies Inc. ((A)).

After the offering, Verigy will have approximately 58.5 million ordinary shares outstanding, with Agilent owning approximately 85.5% of those shares.

The company’s shares closed at $15.49 on Friday, up 3.3% from the initial offering price.

Volcano Corporation ((VOLC)) priced the initial public offering of 6.8 million shares of common stock at a price of $8.00 per share on Thursday, below its expected range of $10 - $12.

In addition, the company has granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to one million additional shares at the initial public offering price to cover over-allotments.

Morgan Securities and Piper Jaffray were serving as lead managers for the offering, with Bear Stearns and Cowen & Co serving as co-managers.

Founded in 2000, Volcano Corporation develops, manufactures and commercializes a broad suite of intravascular ultrasound and functional measurement products that enhance the diagnosis and treatment of vascular and structural heart disease.

The company’s shares closed at $9.12 on Friday, up 14% from the initial offering price.

Synchronoss Technologies Inc. ((SNCR)) priced its initial public offering of 7.1 million shares of common stock at $8.00 per share on Thursday, below the expected range of $9 - $11 a share.

Underwriters Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank managed the deal.

Synchronoss was selling 6.5 million shares and selling stockholders were selling 533,947 shares.

In addition, underwriters have an option to purchase 1.06 million additional shares to cover over allotments.

Synchronoss Technologies is a leading software provider of order management solutions to the communications services marketplace. Users of its software include Cingular Wireless, Vonage Holdings ((VG)) and Cablevision Systems ((CVC)).

The company’s shares closed at $8.58 on Friday, up 7.3% from the initial offering price.

DECLINERS:

Golf equipment retailer Golfsmith International Holdings Inc. ((GOLF)) priced an initial public offering worth $69 million on Wednesday.

The 6 million share offering, which represents about a 39% stake in the company, sold for $11.50 per share, below a $14 - $16 forecast range. All of the shares were offered by the company.

Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan were the lead underwriters on the deal, and Lazard Capital Markets served as co-manager.

In addition, Golfsmith has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 900,000 additional shares to cover over-allotments.

Golfsmith International is a specialty retailer of golf and tennis equipment, apparel and accessories. With 55 stores and robust Internet sales, the company is among the largest players in the retail golf industry. The company plans to open about 23 more stores by the end of next year.

The company’s shares closed at $10.98 on Friday, down 4.5% from the initial offering price.

IPO CALENDAR – week of June 12th

Circuit designer Techwell ((TWLL)) plans to offer 5.5 million shares within a price range of $11-13 per share, in a bid to raise $82.2 million. Lehman Brothers will be the lead underwriter on the deal.

Chemical company Hexion Specialty Chemicals ((HXN)) plans to offer 19 million shares within a price range of $25-$28 price range, in a bid to raise $611.8 million. The company originally planned to offer 18.5 million shares within a range of $26 - $28 per share. Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs will be the lead managers on the deal.

Bank holding company Home Bancshares ((HOMB)) plans to offer 2.5 million shares within a price range of $16 - $18 per share, in a bid to raise $51.8 million. Stephens, Piper Jaffray and Sandler O'Neill will manage the deal.

Blank check company Energy Infrastructure Acquisition intends to offer 22.5 million shares at $10 per share, in a bid to raise $258.8 million. Maxim Group LLC will underwrite the deal.