At the current rate of the slowdown in the IPO market,
there may be nothing to write about very soon. So
long as Nasdaq continues its woes, the IPO market will
be a stark place indeed.
Yet, there are some interesting prospects for next
week. Take a look at
Optical
Communication Products.
Hey, with a name that has “optical,” this is usually a
good sign of a strong IPO. And yes, the company
develops a line of products for high-performance
optoelectronic subsystems for metropolitan area
networks. The product line is fairly comprehensive.
There are: optical transmitters, receivers,
transceivers and transponders (which convert
electrical signals into optical and back). The result
is high-speed communication of voice and data traffic
over public and private networks.
The company is showing strong growth. Last year,
revenues were $36 million. As for the last nine
months (ended June 30), the company had $69.1 million.
The customer list includes the biggies like Nortel
Networks, 3Com, Alcatel, Cisco and CIENA.
The lead underwriter is UBS Warburg and the price
range is $10-$12 (the company intends to issue 10.5
million shares). The proposed ticker symbol is OCPI.
Next, there is
Metavante.
Think of it as a one-stop
shop for financial institutions to implement any type
of technology (transaction processing, software,
consulting). The model is based on ASP (application
service provider); that is, customers access services
and technologies straight from public or private
networks.
The financial industry is under intense pressure. To
offer better services means having better technology.
But for most financial institutions, they lack
in-house technical talent.
Interestingly enough, the company has been in
existence since 1964. And the company is a pioneer,
as well. It processed the first Internet banking
transaction in 1995.
The company has over 3,300 clients. Last year, the
company generated $546.3 million in sales and $36.9
million in profits.
The lead underwriter is CS First Boston and the price
range is $10-$12 (the company intends to issue 16.5
million shares). The proposed ticker symbol is MVNT.
