Category Archives: IPO Watch

WebSideStory began trading today on the NASDAQ. Symbol is WSSI. This company has wanted to IPO for nearly 4 years. Last year it had revenues of more than $16.3 million and losses of just under $2 million. It turned profitable in the first six months of this year. The stock is trading above $9, up from its opening price of $8.50. They apparently sold 5 million shares in the IPO.

WebSideStory, whose IPO was delayed in August until after Labor Day, plans to sell 4.4 million shares; pricing is expected to be $8-9 per share.

I blogged recently about the IPO of Extra Space Storage, which may have been the largest IPO in Utah history.

But that IPO will surely be dwarfed by the forthcoming IPO of Huntsman Chemical. Some speculate it may raise as much as $1.5 billion. The company has debts of approximately $5.8 billion, which it needs to pay down.

From CBS Marketwatch: Shopping.com will raise $126 million instead of $143 million in its IPO.

Ecost, an online retailer similar to Overstock.com, priced its shares today at $5.80 per share.

I heard today that Extra Space Storage, based in Salt Lake City, UT may have had the largest IPO in Utah history. It apparently sold 20.2 million shares at $12.50 per share, raising more than $240 million. If Yahoo Finance is correct, it\’s market cap today was $400 million, which means that it sold more than half of its outstanding shares in the IPO. Does anyone know what the largest IPOs were prior to this one?

Claria is postponing its IPO. Formerly known as Gator, Claria had 2003 revenues of about $90 million and net income of almost $35 million. They filed back in April. The IPO market must be extremely tough right now as companies seem to be pulling out left and right.

I went through the easy and fast process of becoming a Google IPO bidder yesterday, and found out how easy it was to use my Ameritrade account to get ready to bid on the IPO shares once Google opens the auction.

I have been stunned at how many sharks smell blood and are circling Google and attacking with vicious criticism. They bemoan the Dutch auction approach, the voting rights, the price range being over $100 per share. Google has gone from being the best loved internet company in the world, doing everything right, to being attacked and hated by the media, investors, and everyone else almost overnight. Meanwhile, Google is in their quiet period and can\’t respond or participate in the debate.

The firestorm, the media frenzy will soon pass. I can\’t wait.