IPO Update: OpenTable makes it two for 2009
On May 21, OpenTable became the seventh company to complete its initial public offering on the NYSE or NASDAQ in 2009. The company raised approximately $31.4 million, basically split down the middle between the primary and secondary piece of the offering. Interestingly, it was only the second venture-backed company go public on the NYSE or NASDAQ this year – SolarWinds being the first after hanging out in registration limbo for more than a year. Two additional venture-backed companies (Medidata Solutions and LogMeIn) are expected to price in the coming days and weeks.
On the global front, China Zhongwhang Holdings, Asia’s largest manufacturer of aluminum extrusion products, completed its initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in late April, raising approximately $1.3 billion in the process. The deal surpassed Mead Johnson Nutrition, Inc.’s $720 million IPO proceeds by a staggering 80%, making it the largest IPO in the world so far in 2009. I’m not sure what, if anything, all that means for companies looking to go public during the second half of 2009. It is a positive sign that the majority of the companies completing their IPO on the NYSE and NASDAQ are trading above the offering price. Nonetheless, most pundits remain less than optimistic about the IPO window for the foreseeable future.
