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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - It's been a sleepy few weeks for initial public offerings, but during the remainder of September activity should be bustling with 71 companies expected to raise more than $4 billion dollars in new stock offerings.
This week alone, 12 IPOs are slated to price raising $821 million. Nearly half of that capital is expected to be raised by Security Capital Group. The real estate investment company, which has about $3 billion in assets, hopes to raise $400 million.
Unifab International, a maker of shallow-water platforms used to explore and drill for oil and natural gas in depths of 300 ft. or less, is expected to price this week, raising $42 million. William Smith, president of IPO research firm Renaissance Capital, says Unifab should see demand because it's in an attractive sector. Oil & gas IPOs have been performing better than the IPO market overall this year.
Another deal to watch for is Children's Place Retail Stores, a specialty retailer of high-quality apparel and accessories for newborns to 12-year-olds, seeking about $56 million with an offering between $13 to $15 a share. Manish Shah of research firm IPO Maven thinks the shares could hit $25. He says the company plans to spend at least $19 million to open 60 stores next year.
Should these and other expected issues go forward, it would bring the total to about 20 this week, far outpacing the weekly average so far this year. "This activity easily compares to the record pace we saw last year," says Smith. "What we're seeing is a catch-up from a pretty light second quarter.
--Bambi Francisco
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