If there were an award for IPO patience and persistence, two companies that are planning to go public in the U.S. this week would be top contenders.
Private-equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC, which is aiming to raise $500 million on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker APO, has been in registration since April 2008, just a few months before the market for initial public offerings ground to a halt during the global economic crisis. Vitamin retailer GNC Holdings Inc., which is seeking $383 million on the NYSE with a listing under GNC, has been waiting since 2004. This is its third attempt.
Both are better off for the wait. Apollo's financial performance has improved, with total revenue more than doubling in 2010 to $2.1 billion, and net income of $94.6 million, compared to a loss of $155 million in 2009. The stocks of competitors KKR & Co. and Blackstone Group are also trading at double their level in July. GNC's annual revenue and net income has been increasing throughout the economic slowdown, and it had had 22 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth in the U.S as of the end of 2010.
In a sign of how discouraging market conditions were, Apollo didn't bother to update its IPO paperwork for a 15-month period that ended in November 2009. It was about to launch its road show earlier this month when the stock market took a three-day plunge following Japan's earthquake and nuclear crisis, so it decided to wait another week. Now it is planning to go forward. Trading begins Thursday, barring any other ill winds.
GNC has lingered even longer. It began marketing a deal in 2004, just as sales in its diet-aid category began to decline as low-carbohydrate specialty products became more widely available at other stores. In 2006, a second offering was pulled at a time when its revenue was down from a peak five years earlier. This time, it is hoping to launch on Friday, April Fool's Day.
Also expected this week is Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd., which is seeking to raise $151 million on the NYSE under the symbol QIHU. Market observers will be watching it intently as a gauge of U.S. investor interest in Chinese deals, which haven't been warmly embraced this year. The Beijing firm has attracted more buzz than any other Chinese IPO launched so far in 2011, but that isn't saying much. Three previous offerings--from Zuoan Fashion Ltd., Trunkbow International Holdings Ltd., and BCD Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd.—closed Friday below their IPO prices.
Qihoo says it is among China's largest Internet companies as measured by user base. It provides free Internet and mobile security software to protect users' personal data. The company makes its money by sharing revenue from other third-party Internet products—such as games or group-buying websites—that are granted access to its users. Total revenue rose 79% to $58 million in 2010, while net income doubled to $9 million compared with the same period of 2009.
Elsewhere in the IPO market:
Anyone tracking GNC's lengthy trek to an IPO might remember that the company was once owned by Apollo Management, from 2003 to 2007. It is now majority-held by Ares Partners, the Ontario Teachers' Pension in Canada, and management.
Source: http://online.wsj.com
Private-equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC, which is aiming to raise $500 million on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker APO, has been in registration since April 2008, just a few months before the market for initial public offerings ground to a halt during the global economic crisis. Vitamin retailer GNC Holdings Inc., which is seeking $383 million on the NYSE with a listing under GNC, has been waiting since 2004. This is its third attempt.
Both are better off for the wait. Apollo's financial performance has improved, with total revenue more than doubling in 2010 to $2.1 billion, and net income of $94.6 million, compared to a loss of $155 million in 2009. The stocks of competitors KKR & Co. and Blackstone Group are also trading at double their level in July. GNC's annual revenue and net income has been increasing throughout the economic slowdown, and it had had 22 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth in the U.S as of the end of 2010.
In a sign of how discouraging market conditions were, Apollo didn't bother to update its IPO paperwork for a 15-month period that ended in November 2009. It was about to launch its road show earlier this month when the stock market took a three-day plunge following Japan's earthquake and nuclear crisis, so it decided to wait another week. Now it is planning to go forward. Trading begins Thursday, barring any other ill winds.
GNC has lingered even longer. It began marketing a deal in 2004, just as sales in its diet-aid category began to decline as low-carbohydrate specialty products became more widely available at other stores. In 2006, a second offering was pulled at a time when its revenue was down from a peak five years earlier. This time, it is hoping to launch on Friday, April Fool's Day.
Also expected this week is Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd., which is seeking to raise $151 million on the NYSE under the symbol QIHU. Market observers will be watching it intently as a gauge of U.S. investor interest in Chinese deals, which haven't been warmly embraced this year. The Beijing firm has attracted more buzz than any other Chinese IPO launched so far in 2011, but that isn't saying much. Three previous offerings--from Zuoan Fashion Ltd., Trunkbow International Holdings Ltd., and BCD Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd.—closed Friday below their IPO prices.
Qihoo says it is among China's largest Internet companies as measured by user base. It provides free Internet and mobile security software to protect users' personal data. The company makes its money by sharing revenue from other third-party Internet products—such as games or group-buying websites—that are granted access to its users. Total revenue rose 79% to $58 million in 2010, while net income doubled to $9 million compared with the same period of 2009.
Elsewhere in the IPO market:
Anyone tracking GNC's lengthy trek to an IPO might remember that the company was once owned by Apollo Management, from 2003 to 2007. It is now majority-held by Ares Partners, the Ontario Teachers' Pension in Canada, and management.
Source: http://online.wsj.com
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