US IPO market forges ahead with six companies announcing terms so far this week

The US IPO market has been highly active so far this month with sixteen completed deals, and this week's flurry of filings indicates it shows no signs of slowing. A total of six companies have announced terms and timing for their upcoming IPOs since Monday after last week's crop of deals posted an average return of 31%.

Retailers continue to test investor appetite with The Fresh Market (TFM), a high-growth specialty grocer with 95 stores in 19 states, planning to raise $250 million by offering 13.2 million shares at a price range of $18-$20. The Fresh Market, which was founded in 1982 and booked $862 million in sales last year, plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol TFM. BofA Merrill Lynch, J.P. Morgan and Goldman, Sachs & Co. are the lead underwriters on the deal, which is expected to price next week.

Complete Genomics (GNOM), a life sciences company offering a DNA sequencing platform for human genome sequencing and analysis, announced terms for its IPO on Tuesday, the same day competitor Pacific Biosciences of California (PACB) raised $200 million in its IPO. Mountain View, CA-based Complete Genomics plans to raise $78 million by offering 6 million shares at a price range of $12-$14. Complete Genomics plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol GNOM with UBS Investment Bank and Jefferies & Co. acting as the lead underwriters on the deal.

Chinese companies, most of which have been particularly well-received by IPO investors over the past month, continued to approach the US market with wealth management company Noah Holdings (NOAH) and chip company RDA Microelectronics (RDA) unveiling terms this week. Noah Holdings, which focuses on high net worth individuals in China, expects to raise $84 million by offering 8.4 million ADSs at a price range of $9-$11. The company, which was founded in 2005 and booked $22 million in sales for the 12 months ended June 30, plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol NOAH with J.P. Morgan and BofA Merrill Lynch acting as the lead underwriters on the deal. RDA Microelectronics, a fabless developer of RF and mixed-signal semiconductors for wireless communications, plans to raise $71 million by offering 7.5 million ADSs price range of $8.50-$10.50. RDA Microelectronics, which was founded in 2004 and booked $149 million in sales for the 12 months ended June 30, plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol RDA. Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse are the lead underwriters on the deal.

Biotherapeutics company Ikaria (IKAR), which focuses on the critical care market, announced terms for its IPO on Wednesday. The Clinton, NJ-based company plans to raise $160 million by offering 10 million shares at a price range of $15-$17. Ikaria was founded in 2006 and booked $275 million in sales last year; the company plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol IKAR with Goldman, Sachs & Co., Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse acting as the lead underwriters on the deal.

Earlier today, self-managed REIT Richmond Honan Medical Properties (MOB), which owns equity interests in 29 medical office buildings in 10 states, announced terms for its $273 million IPO. The company expects to offer 19.5 million shares at a price range of $13-$15. Richmond Honan Medical Properties was founded in 1975 and booked $38 million in sales last year. It plans to list on the NYSE under the symbol MOB with Baird, Raymond James and RBC Capital Markets acting as the lead underwriters on the deal. REITs have been notably absent from the IPO market as of late, with Ellington Financial (EFC), CoreSite Realty (COR) and Campus Crest Communities (CCG) being the only US listings since the beginning of September.

The US IPO market has seen both volume and performance reach levels similar to those of 2007 this month as unique fundamental stories and attractive growth stories continue to be met with strong investor demand. There are six deals scheduled on the US IPO calendar for next week.