IPO List Growing After Groupon (GRPN) Debut

Growth Stocks Markets
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After a long IPO drought, the success of Groupon’s (Nasdaq: GRPN) initial public offering last week may have opened the floodgates.

Groupon, the online leader in daily coupon deals, went public last Friday and sold $700 million worth of stock – the largest IPO by a tech stock since Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) raised $1.7 billion in its 2004 debut. The stock opened at $20 a share, and jumped 31 percent by the end of the day, closing at $26.11 per share (it has since dropped to $24.41).

Now, according to Renaissance Capital’s IPO listings, no fewer than 13 companies are scheduled to have their IPOs priced in the next two weeks. That amounts to a windfall considering there wasn’t a single IPO for two solid months until recently.

Groupon’s success probably has less – if anything – to do with the sudden IPO rush than the improving market conditions on the heels of the best October for stocks in 20 years. Companies are seeing a friendlier trading climate than they did two months ago, and now feel safe enough to jump headfirst into the stock market pool.

Perhaps one or two of them will experience the same kind of early success Groupon did. Here is a look at the IPO candidates with the most potential:

  • Delphi Automotive (DLPH), one of the largest auto parts makers in North America, has an IPO plan that’s nearly as ambitious as Groupon’s. Delphi plans to sell up to $580 million worth of shares in its initial public offering. It has an estimated price range of between $22 and $24 a share. The IPO is expected to be priced next Wednesday, Nov. 16, and start trading the following day.
  • Manning & Napier (MN), an independent investment management firm, hopes to raise up to $244 million in its IPO. The company plans to sell 12.5 million shares to the public at somewhere between $15 and $17 a pop. Manning & Napier manages nearly $39 billion in assets.
  • Angie’s List (Nasdaq: ANGI), an Indianapolis-based online provider of consumer reviews of local services, is set to launch its $114 million public offering on Nov. 17. It is set to debut at between $11 and $13 a share, and will offer 8.8 million shares.
  • Chesapeake Granite Wash Trust (NYSE: CHKR), a natural gas producer, priced its initial public offering of 20 million shares at $19 a share yesterday. It will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange today.

One other company that may soon be in the IPO pipeline is Yelp. The fastest-growing review site on the Internet is reportedly worth $2 billion and is averaging 63 million unique visitors a month. Yelp is reportedly planning to go public in early 2012.

If and when Yelp does go public, it’ll have to stand in line. The IPO queue is filling up quickly.

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