Stitch Fix IPO fits better than Blue Apron 23 Oct 2017 The personal-clothing shopping service faces tough competition. Yet unlike the meal-delivery service whose public offering flopped in June, it has largely financed rapid growth through profit. Success depends on its shoppers and algorithms continuing to nail fickle fashion.
Russia power IPO lacks “pass the parcel” discount 23 Oct 2017 Oleg Deripaska’s En+ priced its London IPO with a valuation of up to $8.5 bln. On the surface that makes it a cheap way of buying Rusal, the Hong Kong-listed aluminium producer it controls. The catch is that investors can’t see how this portfolio rejigging will shake out.
Sea IPO lures investors angling for next big thing 20 Oct 2017 The Singaporean startup raised nearly $900 mln in a pricier-than-expected U.S. listing. That suggests investors looked past growing losses for fear of missing out on what could become Southeast Asia’s answer to Tencent or Alibaba. Those comparisons are a stretch.
Qudian IPO feeds debt-hungry Chinese millennials 18 Oct 2017 The online lender backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba’s financial arm has priced its U.S. listing above expectations, says Reuters. It boasts fast growth, low defaults and - shockingly for tech - profitability. As young Chinese shoppers rack up debt, Qudian will keep earning.
China’s iQiyi is like Netflix with extra challenges 17 Oct 2017 The Chinese video-streaming service is eyeing a debut on U.S. markets next year and already inviting comparisons to its American partner. Both are burning cash on new content to lure fans. Fickle consumers and limited appeal abroad stand in the way of a $10 bln-plus valuation.
China is third-best option for Saudi Aramco 16 Oct 2017 With its $2 trln public offering in the balance, the Saudi oil giant may bring in a Chinese investor. That would provide cash the state doesn’t urgently need. The other perks of an international IPO, like regional influence and financial discipline, aren’t to be found in Beijing.
Aramco IPO logic is going up in smoke 13 Oct 2017 With oil prices under pressure and OPEC potentially extending cuts, the Saudi oil company’s IPO always seemed a stretch. Aramco had yet to pick an exchange, and would have had to get its books into shape. With private capital abundant, there's little purpose to all the hand wringing.
UBS no longer lonely in Hong Kong’s IPO sin bin 12 Oct 2017 The securities watchdog says it is probing shoddy work by 15 firms on Hong Kong listings. That takes some heat off UBS, the only active IPO bank named so far. A lot has changed in recent years, but the regulator’s zeal in cleaning up the market is nonetheless welcome.
HelloFresh IPO belongs in the deep-freeze 10 Oct 2017 The German meal-kit service is planning a float before proving it can turn a profit. That’s premature. The flame-out of U.S. rival Blue Apron’s IPO in June offers an unhappy precedent. Both firms could go stale if Amazon or traditional retailers launch an assault on the sector.
Server-farm growth fuels hot IPO mumbo jumbo 6 Oct 2017 Rocketing data-storage demand is creating winners – witness the 46 pct rise in Switch in its first day of trading. It also encourages silliness such as the company crediting its performance on CEO and “inventrepreneur” Rob Roy’s practice of “Switchful Thinking.”
German scrap metal IPO hinges on green alchemy 6 Oct 2017 Befesa, which turns waste steel dust into more expensive zinc, could be valued at up to 1.6 billion euros in a Frankfurt listing. Buyout groups offered less earlier this year. Hope that emerging economies will tighten up environmental rules may justify the rich price.
More for China than London in Russian hydro IPO 5 Oct 2017 Oleg Deripaska’s En+, which controls aluminium outfit Rusal, aims to raise $1.5 bln in an LSE and Moscow listing. It touts a green model, but public investors will have little say. The cornerstone backer, a partner of the PRC group that just bought into Rosneft, may do better.
ChemChina makes quick buck from Pirelli flip 3 Oct 2017 The Chinese state giant and its European partners had to put the brakes on their pricing ambitions for the tyremaker’s 6.5 bln euro IPO. Yet less than two years after taking Pirelli private, the consortium is on course to squeeze private equity-style returns from the relisting.
Lyft IPO would amplify Uber’s troubles 28 Sep 2017 The ride-hailing firm is readying to go public as early as next year, Reuters reports. It would be an opportunistic way to capitalize on its larger rival’s self-inflicted damage. Additional capital for the No. 2 U.S. player would merely compound the frontrunner’s injuries.
Charmed life for Indian IPOs may be short 28 Sep 2017 Huge inflows of domestic cash and a lack of healthy financial stocks have helped two insurers float at punchy valuations. At this rate, India is on track for a record year for new issues. But foreigners are selling and the economy looks shaky. Would-be issuers need to move fast.
Hit IPO undercuts the case for new Hong Kong board 28 Sep 2017 Shares in Chinese online insurer ZhongAn soared on their debut. This deal suggests the bourse’s push for a new venue with looser standards is misguided. The city should be able to lure desirable Chinese tech listings just fine by making tweaks to the existing regime.
Cerberus tests demand with long-awaited Bawag exit 27 Sep 2017 The U.S. buyout firm is planning an IPO of the Austrian lender it bought, damaged by the Refco trading scandal, in 2006. For Cerberus and its partners, it has been a drawn-out turnaround. For new investors, Bawag is temptingly digital and efficient. The caveat: it’s still a bank.
Life could get choppy for Sea after $1 bln IPO 25 Sep 2017 The Southeast Asian gaming-to-shopping startup has filed for a U.S. listing. Alibaba is already a rival in the region and Amazon is just getting started. Both are giants that can burn subsidies. For Tencent-backed Sea, listing will only make it harder to compete.
ZhongAn’s hit fintech IPO pushes lots of buttons 22 Sep 2017 The online insurer’s $1.5 bln Hong Kong listing turned into a blowout deal. No wonder: this is an unusual growth stock, with powerful backers and a story that should in time lure mainland investors too. Now the Chinese outfit just has to live up to its lofty valuation.
Chinese online retailer sits in lap of IPO luxury 21 Sep 2017 Secoo has carved out a nice niche, selling upscale brands such as Tod's and Versace. Its customer base is small, though, and the firm is burning cash. Even so, impressive order sizes and a clean image make it a tempting target for counterfeit-fighting Alibaba and mass-market JD.