If you're an aspiring IPO, I've got a few pointers for you before you go for the tiara in Wall Street's beauty contest.
- Take a good, long look in the mirror and ask yourself if you're pretty enough to go through with it.
- Take a few inches off those heels, because you're going to have to sashay down the catwalk a lot smaller than you first imagined.
- Pack a thick skin, because Mr. Market's cruel judges make Simon Cowell seem like Paula Abdul.
This morning's new sash-donning contestant is Intellon
The same fate befell rival chip designer Entropic
If you think sobering integrated circuit IPOs come in threes, Memsic
This isn't some contagious epidemic that has stricken only the freshly minted semiconductor stocks. Plenty of companies looking to go public in recent months have had to make a tough choice in light of investor apathy: Postpone the IPO, or take whatever the underwriter's best accounts are willing to pay.
ATM operator Cardtronics
It's hard to walk in their shoes. Waiting for market sentiment to turn positive can be a dangerous game, especially when you need the money. Some companies, like Cardtronics, will simply accept the lower price, but in turn only offer a fraction of the shares that were originally supposed to be sold. It means even less money coming in, but it opens the door for an eventual secondary offering in the future, when the shares are back in favor.
Is it embarrassing? It may be, but today's new companies can always turn to Google
They can't all wear the tiara.
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