After a torrid first quarter loaded with plenty of hot debutantes, last week was a bit of a killjoy.
Solar power-plant developer BrightSource Energy shelved its IPO at the last minute, and the four companies that did go public didn't exactly light up the scoreboard.
Let's take a closer look at the companies that went public last week.
|
Company |
IPO |
April 13 Price |
Gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oaktree Capital (NYSE: OAK) | $43 | $41.50 | (3%) |
| Forum Energy (NYSE: FET) | $20 | $21.50 | 8% |
| MRC Global (NYSE: MRC) | $21 | $20.80 | (1%) |
| Erickson Air-Crane (NYSE: EAC) | $8 | $8.05 | 1% |
Source: Dealogic.
Oaktree is the big name to go public. Founder and Chairman Howard Marks is a value-investing icon in the realm of private equity. However, even the admiration of Warren Buffett wasn't enough to get Oaktree in motion.
The private equity firm was initially hoping to price last week's offering between $43 and $46. It had to settle for the low end, but that was still too rich for investors. The $6.5 billion company fell last week, and continued to move lower today.
Forum Energy Technologies and MRC Global provide equipment for oilfields. At a time when oil prices are spiking, this would seem to be a popular niche. Forum turned out to be the only one of last week's four IPOs to make a significant move, though an 8% gain is hardly much of a pop.
Finally, we have Erickson Air-Crane. The company's Erickson S-64 Aircrane is a powerful helicopter capable of lifting up to 25,000 pounds. Unfortunately, the IPO itself couldn't get off the ground. Erickson priced 4.8 million shares at $8, and that's nearly where the stock finished last week.
There are a few more scintillating names going public this week. Let's see if we wind up with a few big winners this time.
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