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US IPO Week Ahead: Five minor IPOs expected to price ahead of mid-February lull

February 9, 2018
Week Ahead

Three small deals are scheduled for the week ahead, two of which are hold-overs from last week. 

We expect IPO activity to remain muted until late February, driven by a combination of the upcoming President's Day holiday and companies getting in full 2017 numbers. New filing activity in the coming weeks will indicate whether current market conditions have impacted the anticipated pick-up in late February and early March.

U.S. IPO Calendar
Issuer
Business
Deal Size
Market Cap
Price Range
Shares Filed
Pricing
Date
Top
Bookrunners
Biofrontera (BFRA)
Leverkusen, Germany
$15M
$266M
$11 - $13
1,249,667
Tue
02/13
Benchmark
Sells treatments for skin conditions caused by sun damage.
DFB Healthcare Acq. (DFBHU)
New York, NY
$250M
$313M
$10
25,000,000
Thu
02/15
Goldman
Deutsche Bank
Blank check company backed by Deerfield and led by the former CEO of Universal American.
Aspen REIT (AJAX)
New York, NY
$34M
$68M
$20
1,700,000
Thu
02/15
Maxim Group
Single-asset REIT formed to own Colorado's St. Regis Aspen Resort.
Leo Holdings (LHC.U)
London, United Kingdom
$200M
$250M
$10
20,000,000
Wk of
02/12
Citi
Blank check company formed by Lion Capital executives to acquire a consumer business.
Motus GI (MOTS)
Tirat Carmel, Israel
$26M
$102M
$5 - $7
4,250,000
Wk of
02/12
Piper Jaffray
Oppenheimer
Developing a medical device to assist with intraprocedural colonoscopy cleaning.

German Skin
Currently listed in Frankfurt (B8F), skin therapy pharma Biofrontera (BFRA) plans to raise $15 million in its US IPO, plus an additional $18.8 million from current public shareholders. The company sells a prescription gel used in conjunction with an LED lamp for treating actinic keratoses (potentially precancerous patches of skin) and expects revenue to increase 47% in the 4Q17 to $5.9 million, driven entirely by rising sales in the US (63% of total) following its 4Q16 US launch.

Colonoscopy Device Developer and a Consumer SPAC: Better Late Than Never?
Motus GI (MOTS), the developer of the "Pure-Vu" intraprocedural colonoscopy cleansing device, plans to raise $26 million after delaying pricing by one week. The pre-revenue Israeli company received FDA approval for its Pure-Vu system in September 2016, but only remains in pilot phases, which raises concerns around adoption rates and barriers to entry.

UK-based blank check company Leo Holdings (LHC.U) was set to price its $200 million US IPO this past week, but ultimately pushed back pricing to the upcoming week. The SPAC is sponsored by Lion Capital and plans to acquire a consumer retail business.

Blank check company DFB Healthcare Acquisitions (DFBHU) is looking to raise $250 million. The SPAC is backed by Deerfield and led by the former CEO of Universal American.

Single-asset REIT Aspen REIT (AJAX) is expected to raise $34 million on a best efforts basis under the Regulation A+ framework. It plans to issue a quarterly dividend of $0.29/share (5.8% pro forma annualized yield).

Quiet Periods
Street research is expected for Apollo-backed ADT (ADT) on Tuesday, February 13. In January, the company raised $1.4 billion in its downsized IPO and has since traded down 12% as a result of its premium valuation that left little room for upside.

IPO Market Snapshot
The Renaissance IPO Indices are market cap weighted baskets of newly public companies. The Renaissance IPO Index has returned -2.4% year-to-date and the S&P 500 is down -2.0%. Renaissance Capital's IPO ETF (NYSE: IPO) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Snap (SNAP) and Invitation Homes (INVH). The Renaissance International IPO Index is down -1.4%  year-to-date, while the ACWX is down -2.3%. Renaissance Capital’s International IPO ETF (NYSE: IPOS) tracks the index, and top ETF holdings include Orsted (DONG Energy) and ASR Nederland.