Nine IPOs are scheduled to raise $1.4 billion this week.
The IPO market could see the year's largest company and the year's largest biotech by market cap begin trading in the US. Two yield plays account for two-thirds of expected proceeds. Six of the nine are development-stage health care and genetics companies, four of which had delayed their IPOs.
Last week, just 8 of 14 IPOs managed to price and just one gained more than 10% on its first day. Expect similar pushback this week. Voters in our IPO Poll are not enthusiastic.
Incentives for sale: EQT GP set to be year's largest company to IPO
EQT GP Holdings LP (EQGP) offers investors a levered play on natural gas pipeline MLP EQT Midstream's (NYSE: EQM) rising distributions through the GP's equity interests and incentive distribution rights. The underlying MLP has gained 300% since its June 2012 IPO. Signaling investor demand, Tallgrass Energy GP LP (TEGP) became the year's largest IPO by deal size and market cap after it priced above the range, then traded up 9%. EQT GP will have a relatively low float; the offered shares represent just 7.5% of its market cap.
Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC (FTAI) is set to raise $400 million. Formed by private equity firm Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG), FTAI owns a portfolio of aviation, rail and marine transportation and logistics assets. The company pitches itself as being able to respond to market conditions by shifting resources while closing on acquisitions at attractive prices. It offers an initial yield of more than 6%.
Year's largest biotech to offer shares in the US
Galapagos (GLPG), which trades in Europe under the ticker GLPG, plans to raise about $200 million by listing in the US. Primary shareholder Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) plan to invest $55 million on the offering of the inflammatory disease biotech. Its stock has gained over 130% year-to-date and is up 50% since it first filed to list in the US. Its market cap of $1.6 billion surpasses March IPO Cellectis (CLLS; -24%), which was also listed in Europe and traded up significantly prior to the US offering.
Fenix Parts (FENX), a recently formed rollup of auto parts manufacturers, plans to raise $110 million, representing 66% of its market cap. Much larger peer LKQ (NASDAQ: LKQ) sold off in late February but the stock recovered two weeks ago.
Four delayed biotechs - topical Botox, weight loss pill, gene therapy, dog diarrhea
Biotechs without big-name backers have had difficulty getting done as investor sentiment for the sector cools. Three biotechs that had originally been set to price last week will make a second attempt this week, though none have chosen a date. Of note, last week's two worst performers, OpGen (OPGN) and CoLucid Pharmaceuticals (CLCD), had originally been on the calendar for the prior week and priced well below the range.
Weight loss pill maker Gelesis (GLSS) plans to raise $52 million; insiders intend to invest up to 34% of the deal. Led by former Introgen executives, MultiVir (MVIR) is developing gene therapies it acquired from now-bankrupt Introgen; its backer plans to buy up to 33% of the proposed $60 million deal. Topical botulinum toxin maker Anterios (ANTE), which did not disclose insider buying, targets a large but competitive market.
Jaguar Animal Health (JAGX) originally planned to raise $40 million at a 34% higher valuation in November 2014, but the pet diarrhea biotech dropped out. It could be bookrunner Aegis Capital's first IPO of 2015.
| Renaissance Capital's IPO Calendar - Week of 5/11/2015 | ||||
| Issuer Business |
Symbol Exchange |
Deal Size $mil |
Price Range Shares Filed |
Lead Manager(s) |
| EQT GP Holdings LP Pittsburgh, PA |
EQGP NYSE |
$450 | $21 - $24 20,000,000 |
Barclays Goldman Sachs |
| Owns GP and LP interests in midstream energy MLP EQT Midstream Partners. | ||||
| Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC New York, NY |
FTAI NYSE |
$400 | $19 - $21 20,000,000 |
Citi BofA Merrill Lynch |
| LLC formed by Fortress to own aviation, rail and marine transportation assets. | ||||
| Galapagos Mechelen, Belgium |
GLPG NASDAQ |
$200 | $42.43 4,720,000 |
Morgan Stanley Credit Suisse |
| Belgian biotech developing new treatments for inflammatory diseases. | ||||
| Fenix Parts Miami, FL |
FENX NASDAQ |
$110 | $9 - $11 11,000,000 |
BMO Capital Markets Stifel |
| Recently formed rollup of eight recycled auto parts providers. | ||||
| Arcadia Biosciences Davis, CA |
RKDA NASDAQ |
$100 | $13 - $15 7,150,000 |
Credit Suisse J.P. Morgan |
| Developing a portfolio of crop productivity traits for genetically modified seeds. | ||||
| MultiVir Houston, TX |
MVIR NASDAQ |
$60 | $12 - $14 4,600,000 |
RBC Capital Markets |
| Biotech developing gene therapies for cancer. | ||||
| Gelesis Boston, MA |
GLSS NASDAQ |
$52 | $12 - $14 4,000,000 |
Piper Jaffray Stifel |
| Developing a weight loss capsule for patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes. | ||||
| Anterios New York, NY |
ANTE NASDAQ |
$51 | $12 - $14 3,900,000 |
Stifel RBC Capital Markets |
| Developing a topical formulation of botulinum toxin. | ||||
| Jaguar Animal Health San Francisco, CA |
JAGX NASDAQ |
$22 | $7 3,150,000 |
Aegis Capital |
| Developing an animal formulation of its parent's approved diarrhea treatment. | ||||
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IPO pipeline update: Fitbit files
Fitbit (FIT) joined the IPO pipeline last week when it filed for an IPO that we estimate could raise $400 million or more. While the consumer sector has seen less activity this year, chicken wing restaurant chain Wingstop (WING) also filed to raise $86 million. Two technology IPOs - e-commerce platform Shopify (SHOP) and Chinese e-commerce outsourcer Baozun (BZUN) - joined the IPO calendar for next week while Evolent Health's (EVH) initial filing suggests that the tech sector may be picking up. TerraForm Global (TERG.RC) was last week's largest filer with a $700 million deal size; the SunEdison (NYSE: SUNE) yieldco owns solar and wind power assets in emerging markets and follows the successful 2014 IPO of US-focused TerraForm Power (TERP).
IPO market snapshot
The Renaissance IPO Index, a market cap weighted basket of newly public companies that is designed to represent the US IPO market, has traded up 6% year-to-date, compared to 3% for the S&P 500. Renaissance Capital's IPO ETF (NYSE: IPO) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Alibaba (BABA), Twitter (TWTR), Hilton (HLT), Ally Financial (ALLY) and Voya Financial (VOYA). To find out if this is the best ETF for you, visit our IPO investing page.
