| News Filings for European IPOs Surge as the US IPO Market Remains Sluggish  Over the past three months, 59 European companies have filed with European regulators to raise over $14 billion through initial public offerings (IPOs). This is the greatest number of European filings by companies to go public since the second quarter of 2008.
So far this year, 77 companies throughout Europe have raised $13.7 billion by going public in Europe. This exceeds the $12.9 billion raised by 83 companies through US IPOs during the same period. Most importantly for investors, European IPOs that have started trading this year increased in share price an average of 3.5% compared to a drop of 7.6% for U.S. IPOs. (Full Story)
Disappointing News from Germany: One IPO Postponed, One Canceled
 July 6, 2010 – Monday was not a great day for German investment bankers. In a surprising move, the German construction company Bilfinger Berger postponed the initial public offering (IPO) of its Australian subsidiary. Bilfinger Berger had planned to raise between $1 billion and $1.2 billion.
Also on Monday, Berlin’s largest property developer, Chamartin Meermann Immobilien cancelled its IPO. It cited lack of interest from investors as the reason. The company had planned to raise approximately $70 million. (Full Story)
| |
A Publication of Friedland Capital
Follow Us on Twitter, Click Here Commentaries By Jeffrey Friedland Not Exactly a Surprise: GM Delays IPO Roadshow
September 2, 2010- The Obama administration had been pushing for the GM initial public offering (IPO) to be completed before the mid-term congressional elections, as a way of proving to American voters that the government bailout of the U.S. auto industry had been a good move. (Full Commentary)
Get Ready for the G.M. IPO, Which is Shaping Up to be the Worst IPO of All Time G.M. Will Seek Retail Investors – Is that Because of a Lack of Interest by Institutional Investors?
 August 15, 2010 – Get out your checkbooks, and get ready for the G.M. initial public offering (IPO), which may be the worst IPO of all time. G.M. wants to raise $16 billion, which would also make the IPO the largest U.S. IPO ever. As part of the White House’s political strategy, there is no question that the Obama administration wants the G.M. IPO completed prior to the upcoming mid-term elections in November, to prove to the American public that the auto industry governmental bailout was a good move.
The IPO will have four lead underwriters, Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley. Conspicuously absent from the underwriter list is Goldman Sachs. Since all four of the underwriters have been consistently attacked by the White House and Congress as a source of all the country’s economic problems, I can’t imagine that any of these underwriters is happy about the task of trying to sell the G.M. IPO to investors. One can only imagine the arm-twisting and the behind closed door sessions that took place to get the underwriters on board. And, I can’t imagine that any of the underwriters’ sales teams or brokers is happy about being told to sell the IPO shares, especially at a reduced commission. (Full Commentary)
Is Main Street on Strike? Is What’s Happening Reminiscent of John Galt’s Strike in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged? August 8, 2008 – The economic recession has had a devastating effect on America’s Main Street. There is little question that the first so-called stimulus bill failed to stimulate the U.S. economy. Perhaps it did lessen the likelihood of a deeper economic downturn, but it definitely didn’t provide the 8 million new jobs the president promised. Since then, major focuses of the administration have been to force through healthcare and financial regulatory reform, and “get even” with Wall Street and the major banks. Obama has ignored the problems of main street. He has also ignored what has been, is and will remain the major issue, that of jobs, and more importantly decent paying jobs. And, the problems in the housing sector, including the continued record number of foreclosures and homeowners stopping in paying their mortgages is, at its roots, about jobs. If Americans have decent paying jobs, most will pay their mortgage payments and remain in their homes. If they don’t they won’t. (Full Commentary)
General Motors Starts to Talk up its IPO Is the US Treasury Insisting to Wall Street that the IPO Get Done?  July 23, 2010 -- Is the GM initial public offering (IPO) a sanity test for Wall Street? In recent weeks GM’s management has been talking up the company’s IPO.
It seems that the Obama administration wants the IPO for the nationalized GM completed before the mid-term congressional elections as a way of proving to the American public that the GM bailout was a good deal for taxpayers. The government also wants to prove that it can recoup some of its TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) investment in GM. (Full Commentary)
Is the OTC Bulletin Board on its Deathbed? July 17, 2010 -- One has to wonder whether the OTC Bulletin Board is on its deathbed. The OTC Bulletin Board (OTC BB) was created 20 years ago as a way of enabling smaller capitalization publicly traded companies who didn't qualify for NASDAQ or the American Stock Exchange to have a trading facility for their shares. At the time of its creation, the OTC Bulletin Board provided a more transparent trading platform than the Pink Sheets. But the OTC Bulletin Board has not kept up with technology, and many believe that it has now outlived its usefulness. (Full Commentary)
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to Trade on the OTC Bulletin Board Both Firms Lose Their NYSE Listings July 7, 2010 – I thought I would never see this. And, it’s very sad. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage companies 80 percent owned by U.S. taxpayers, will begin trading tomorrow on the OTC Bulletin Board (OTC BB), as they have both lost their listings on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Fannie Mae’s common and preferred shares will trade under the symbol FNMA and Freddie Mac will trade under the symbol FMCC. (Full Commentary)
The Frankfurt Stock Exchange Looks to Emerging Markets for Growth Exchange is Targeting Russia, India and China  July 5, 2010 - There is no question that the Eurozone economic problems have slowed corporate finance activity for Europe’s financial centers. In fact, Europe’s problems have resulted in Paris, London and Frankfurt seeing a substantial decrease in financial activity. But the Frankfurt Stock Exchange has been holding its own compared to other European financial centers.
In 2006 more than 30% of global IPOs took place in Europe. During the first quarter of this year Europe’s percentage dropped to 15%. (Full Story)
Will BP Sell its Interest in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay to the Chinese National Petroleum Corp? How Would this Play in Congress? June 9, 2010 - Today it was announced that over 6000 lawsuits have been filed against BP. Concerns are being raised as to whether BP will survive. While BP last year had $27 billion in cash flow from operations and paid out $10.5 billion in dividends, it’s a real unknown as what the financial costs to BP will be from the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The company has spent $1 billion so far trying to stop the oil and for cleanup. The total cost will be in the tens of billions and that’s without the big unknown, punitive damages. (Full Commentary)
US Governmental Debt Now Exceeds $13 Trillion How Long Will Foreign Investors Finance the American Standard of Living? June 9, 2010 - The Euro crisis has focused investors worldwide on governmental debt. And, frequently U.S. governmental debt is mentioned in the same breath as debt concerns of Greece, Portugal, the UK and Spain. President Obama continues to increase governmental debt to unprecedented levels, and one that will, in 2012 surpass America’s gross domestic product. This month, total U.S. governmental debt exceeded $13 trillion for the first time. Based on projections made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in 2012 the total will exceed U.S. gross domestic product.. (Full Commentary)
A Publication of FRIEDLAND GLOBAL CAPITAL For a complimentary subscription to Friedland Global Capital News by email or postal mail, click here. To receive Tweets from Twitter as new items are posted, follow us on Twitter. We're FriedlandGlobal on Twitter.
To speak with someone immediately, please phone
1-212-757-9454 in the US or +8610-6505 6996 in China. | |