Even the biggest IPO in US history was a nonevent this week. AT&T Wireless
went public. The company set aside 10 percent of the IPO stock for all employees of
AT&T. Reported stories, such as from the Wall Street Journal, indicated that
some of these employees borrowed large sums in order to get shares.
Well, the IPO was ho-hum. On its first day of trading, the stock closed at
$31-7/8, which was up $2-3/8. Yet, if this IPO were launched several months
ago, the response would have likely been much stronger. Then again, it would
have probably eroded, such as was the case with Palm.
With investors hostile towards IPOs, do not expect much action for next
week. Simply put, the environment is brutal.
Although, ON Semiconductor will likely be ON for its IPO. Actually, it is a
real company. And investors want real. Last year, the company had $1.7
billion in revenues and $59 million in profits.
The company was once a division of Motorola. As an independent company, ON is
now one of the largest suppliers of semiconductor components. The company
has over 16,000 products, for such things as wireless, high-speed modems,
routers, DVDs and so on.
The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics indicate that ONs addressable
marketplace was $19.5 billion in 1999 and is expected to be $25.1 billion in
2002.
The lead underwriter is Morgan Stanley and the proposed ticker symbol is
ONNN. The price range is $15-$17.
Digitalwork.com is a provider of online services to the small business
market. It is a cool site, which helps business manage such things as
marketing, recruiting, and getting sales leads. Digitalwork.com has also
been smart in distributing its services to major online hubs, such as IBM,
PurchasePro.com and AT&T. In all, over 100,000 small businesses use the
service.
But investors may be gun shy. The company is very raw, with only $1.9
million in revenues last year. Whats more, losses were $15.3 million.
The lead underwriter is Lehman Brothers and the proposed ticker symbol is
DWRK. The price range is $11-$13.
Another one that may have trouble is ClientLogic. Basically, the company
wants to be the one-stop shop for companies to build their e-commerce
presences. But, in reality, the company provides mostly call center
services, which is a tough business.
Although, the company does have sales of $177 million (in 1999). But losses
are $42.9 million.
The lead underwriter is Salomon Smith Barney and the proposed ticker symbol
is CLGC. The price range is $14-$16.
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