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The return of PayPal
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February 9, 2002: 7:00 a.m. ET
PayPal IPO looks back on track, GameStop and Newcastle also on tap.
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Online payment firm PayPal Inc. will try to restart its initial public offering after taking a hit from a patent-infringement lawsuit last week.
Analysts say the PayPal IPO should be able to get past the legal bump in the road, and also see solid debuts for retailer GameStop Inc. and real-estate company Newcastle Investment Corp.
PayPal is now slated to trade this week after filing an amended registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a market source.
Rival CertCo filed the suit last week, alleging deliberate patent infringement on its electronic payment and transaction system, and seeking an injunction against the infringement and damages.
In its SEC filing, PayPal said the assertions are "without merit."
Ben Holmes, an IPO industry watcher, said the lawsuit was timed simply to hurt the IPO.
"This is a patent they held since 2000," Holmes said. "Why bring it now?"
He said the PayPal deal should overcome the negative publicity of the lawsuit "on its own merit."
David Menlow, president of IPOFinancial.com, said the only hesitation he had on PayPal's IPO is the lawsuit may give a platform for an agenda-based negative story in the media.
PayPal plans to raise about $70.2 million, selling 5.4 million shares between $12 and $14 per share through lead underwriters Salomon Smith Barney.
The stock will trade as "PYPL" on the Nasdaq.
The game stops here
GameStop Inc., the video game retail arm of Barnes & Noble, is set to raise about $325 million, selling 18,055,555 shares between $17 and $19 per share.
GameStop, the largest video game specialty retailer in the United States, also operates stores under the Babbage's, Software Etc., and FuncoLand names, but is in the processing of rebranding all stores to GameStop.
Menlow said that with Barnes & Noble owning all the class B shares of GameStop, the deal is "half a step up from a tracking stock."
He also said he didn't know whether the company's financial statement could convince everyone, with GameStop displaying strong growth since 1997 but still not showing a profit.
The company had revenue of more then $756 million in 2001 but lost a little under $12 million.
But Holmes said the offering should do well.
"I'm not real big on retail right now, but I am big on gaming," he said. "Activision and other gaming stocks are doing very well and somebody has to sell those games."
GameStop will trade as "GME" on the New York Stock Exchange, also led by Salomon Smith Barney.
Real estate trailblazer?
The third deal of the week, real estate investment trust Newcastle Investment, isn't the biggest name, but it could be in the right sector at the right time.
"Real estate is where it's at," Holmes said.
He said that with the shakeout of Enron and the "witch hunt" for earnings quality ongoing, he believes investors are looking for "something they can count on."
"This is the first real estate investment trust we've seen in a while," Menlow said. "This may be the trailblazer and we may see some more."
Newcastle expects to raise about $101.2 million, selling 4.4 million shares between $22 and $24 per share through lead underwriters Bear Stearns and Lehman Bros.
The company will trade as "NCT" on the New York Stock Exchange.
Menlow noted that the IPO market is now in the middle of a drought, with too few offering to satisfy investor demand. But he added that investors are still quite discerning about what deals they like. 
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