Too much, too soon?

21 December 2009 By Lauren Silva

Recent private equitybacked offerings haven t been greeted with enthusiasm. Now Blackstone is launching a $2 bln IPO of Travelport. Investors are rightly being choosy. That doesn t bode well for private equity returns, because big buyouts need successful IPOs to make money.

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TPGowned Kraton Performance Polymers on Dec. 16 sold shares to the public for $13.50 a share, well below the expected $16 to $18 price range. Its shares closed on Dec. 18 at $13.60.

Houstonbased Cobalt International Energy on Dec. 15 sold 63 million shares for $13.50 each, raising roughly $850 million. It had expected to sell the shares for between $15 and $17 each. The company is controlled by Goldman Sachs and Carlyle Group. Shares closed on Dec. 18 at $13.50.

Blackstoneowned hospital staffing company Team Health Holdings recently issued 13.3 million shares at $12 each against an expected range of $14 to $16.

Travelport, the travel services company owned by Blackstone, is preparing an initial public offering. The company is hoping to raise $2 billion in London, according to someone familiar with the situation. Travelport could file for the offering as early as February.

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