E-Mailbag Monday: IPOs, Net2Phone, S2B

What looks hot in the IPO market next week?

Reply: First, there’s
O2 Wireless, which
is based in the Cayman Islands. The company is a developer of integrated
circuits for power management of computer systems and cell phones. However,
the deal is small. The company intends to issue 4 million shares at the
price range of $7-$9. Since it is a foreign offering, there is no EDGAR
filing. You will need to request a hard copy version.

The lead underwriter is Robertson Stephens and the proposed ticker symbol is
OIIM.

Also,
ServiceWare
plans to go public. I wrote about this company in my

column several weeks ago. The technology is definitely cutting-edge and
the company looks like a good long-term bet on the e-services sector.

Net2Phone: Investors on the Line?

What’s your take on the rumor of some type of alliance between Net2Phone and
Cisco?

Reply: As a rule, it is not a good idea to invest on rumors. Such
rumors fizzle very quickly. Although, as for
Net2Phone , it had a
nice pop: 26% on Friday.

In the case of Net2Phone, however, I think the company is in a position of
strength. In fact, I would not be surprised to see the company sign mega
deals with mega companies. After all, Net2Phone recently completed an
investment from AT&T for $1.4 billion. In this deal, Yahoo! also
participated.

S2B: A New Spin on B2B

What does the acronym S2B mean?

Reply: This means “supplier to business.” The former CEO of VerticalNet , Mark
Walsh, talked about this new concept last week. According to Walsh, the B2B
marketplace has this problem; that is, it often means that small suppliers get
squeezed on volume discounts. If this is the case, why would suppliers want
to participate? Well, with S2B, a company like VerticalNet will focus on
providing value to suppliers.