With the Nasdaq finally deciding it was a bear market, companies are going on
and off the IPO schedule without any apparent rhyme or reason (then again,
when is there any rhyme or reason to the IPO market?)
Lets see the brave souls that plan to go out next week:
AltaVista of Palo Alto, Calif. is a leading Internet search
network that delivers personalized information and e-commerce services to
millions of users worldwide. Media Metrix ranked AltaVista as the No. 9
most-visited site on the Internet for January, with over 13 million
visitors.
Unfortunately, the portal market is very crowded and dominated by America Online Inc. (AOL), MSN and Yahoo! Inc. It will not be an easy ride for AltaVista.
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is the lead underwriter. The price range is $18
to
$20 and the proposed ticker symbol is ALTA.
Techies.com is a two-way communication channel for technology companies and
technology professionals. It allows large and small companies to access and
recruit technology professionals. It also allows technology professionals to
enlarge their career options by developing relations with potential
employers.
With the labor markets very tight, Techies.com has lots of business.
Techies.com revenues come primarily from their sale of online recruiting
solutions to more than 1,100 companies. In other words, Techies.com is focusing
on the corporate market, not consumers.
The proposed ticker symbol is TCHS. Credit Suisse First Boston is the lead
underwriter and the price range is $10 to $12.
Birch Telecom, a new alternative to Southwestern Bell, serves Kansas,
Missouri
and Texas. They offer voice and data service, Internet access, Web hosting,
integrated voice and data transmission over a combination of leased and
owned
network facilities.
Their revenue for the year was $60.5 million, a 132 percent increase over 1998.
However, their loss was over $61 million. Yet, investors still have a
penchant for telecom.
Lehman Brothers is the lead underwriter. The proposed ticker symbol is BRCH
and the price range is $ 15 to $17.
Onesoft Corp. develops and provides Internet commerce application software
and
services that shortens the time-to-market and minimizes customer’s
investments to develop and maintain their own Internet commerce.
The company provides XML-based Internet commerce application software, which
includes
selling, order processing, and customer support, as well as allows users to
integrate their systems with their suppliers and partners. Some of their
clients are ePhones, Maytag, and WeightWatchers.com.
Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown is the lead underwriter. The proposed ticker
symbol
is ONSF and the price range is $12 to $14.
Finally, Do you know who is the newest queen of investing? Why, it is Queen
Elizabeth
II of England.
It seems she invested $160,000 in Getmapping.com and saw her investment become $1.5 million on that company’s recent IPO. Maybe the royals
need to look into the market instead of being in the market tabloids.
