I guess it won't be Liberty for all.
Liberty Mutual is postponing its IPO, citing the weak economy and market volatility. As an insurer that probably knows its way around predicting odds and sorting through actuary tables, I'm guessing that the real reason that Liberty Mutual jammed on the brakes during the very week that it was supposed to hit the market is that it came to grips with its own greed.
Liberty Mutual wasn't just looking to move a handful of freshly minted shares to get its Wall Street debut rolling. The property and casualty insurer wanted to raise as much as $1.3 billion, hoping to command as much as $20 apiece for a whopping 64.3 million shares.
It's not as if the rudderless economy and shaky market has cleared the IPO dance floor. After a sleepy summer, several companies have successfully gone public over the past few trading days.
|
Company |
IPO Date |
Offer |
9/29/10 |
Gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Amyris (Nasdaq: AMRS) |
9/28 |
$16.00 |
$16.85 |
5% |
|
Country Style Cooking (Nasdaq: CCSC) |
9/28 |
$16.50 |
$25.03 |
52% |
|
SciQuest (NYSE: SQI) |
9/24 |
$9.50 |
$12.15 |
28% |
|
CoreSite Realty (NYSE: COR) |
9/23 |
$16.00 |
$16.42 |
3% |
|
SouFun Holdings (Nasdaq: SFUN) |
9/17 |
$42.50 |
$61.11 |
44% |
Source: Yahoo! Finance.
Not bad, huh?
The market has been generally receptive to fresh meat. Given the rock-bottom interest rates on corporate bonds -- hammered home last week with Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) three-year debt at an eye-popping 0.875% -- companies that opt for equity over cheap financing should be commended.
Maybe next time, Liberty Mutual. Just don't go pointing the finger at the economy or the stock market, because clearly the water's just fine for those companies diving in these days.
What private company would you like to see go public in 2010? Share your answer in the comment box below.
