CurrentOfferings.com Story:

Busy week to kick off with $3.34 bln Genworth deal

By Nicole Maestri, Reuters, May 21, 2004

A life and mortgage insurance company, a regional airline operator and a parking facilities operator are just a few of the nine companies that will be up for sale in next week's initial public offerings market.

That puts the month of May firmly on track to mark the fourth consecutive month of double-digit IPOs -- a milestone not seen since 2000, according to Thomson Financial.

The week will also bring the third billion-dollar-plus U.S. initial public offering of the year. Early in the week, General Electric Co. (nyse: GE - news - people) is expected to proceed with its $3.34 billion public offering of its life and mortgage insurance unit, Genworth Financial.

"There's a lot of pent up demand," said Knox Fuqua, a fund manager at AAM Investments. "The market is kind of looking for new ideas."

Genworth's offering is larger than the much-hyped $2.7 billion Google IPO, but it is not expected to elicit the same excitement as the Web search provider's offering or even that of online jewelry merchant Blue Nile Inc. (nasdaq: NILE - news - people), whose shares jumped close to 40 percent in their market debut on Thursday.

"The Genworth IPO should be a solid IPO. The company is a solid company, there's a lot of pedigree to the deal in terms of the underwriters and it's a great holding for an institution," said Tom Taulli, co-founder of Current Offerings, which tracks IPOs. But he added: "I don't think it will skyrocket."

U.S. conglomerate GE is moving to scale down its insurance operations and focus on faster-growing businesses to hit its goal of double-digit profit growth in 2005.

GE Chairman Jeffrey Immelt plans to shed slow-growth companies while pouring money into industries with better growth prospects, such as Hispanic media and health technology.

GE Financial Assurance Holdings said in a regulatory filing that it would offer 145 million Class A common stock at a price between $21 and $23 per share.

Morgan Stanley (nyse: MWD - news - people) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (nyse: GS - news - people), the lead underwriters, are among 21 firms handling the IPO. They will have the option to buy another 21.75 million shares to cover over-allotment.

GE will own 70 percent of the new company after the offering but said it will reduce its stake over time.

Genworth said GE Financial is concurrently offering $600 million of equity units and $100 million of preferred stock in a separate offering.

David Menlow, president of IPOfinancial.com, is taking a cautious view of the IPO. While Genworth may be a high quality offering, he said its complicated structure might turn off investors.

"I would venture to say that this stock is going to have its difficulties holding its issue price," he said.

Genworth has applied to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "GNW" (nyse: GNW - news - people).

Also on the calendar for next week:

- Regional airline operator Republic Airways Holdings Inc. expects to offer 5 million common shares for $14 to $16 each. Republic Airways has filed for a Nasdaq listing under the ticker symbol "RJET" (nasdaq: RJET - news - people).

- Biopharmaceutical firm Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. expects to offer 5 million shares for an estimated price of between $12 and $14 per share. It has applied to list its shares on Nasdaq under the symbol "ACAD" (nasdaq: ACAD - news - people).

- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. expects to offer 5 million shares of common stock for between $10 to $12 a share. The biopharmaceutical firm has applied to list its shares on the Nasdaq stock market under the ticker symbol "ALNY" (nasdaq: ALNY - news - people).

- Biopharmaceutical company Inhibitex Inc. plans to offer 5.9 million shares at a price between $10.00 and $12.00 per share. It has applied to list its shares on Nasdaq under the symbol "INHX" (nasdaq: INHX - news - people).

- Standard Parking Corp., a parking facilities operator at airports and shopping centers, plans to sell 4.1 million common shares for between $14 and $16 each. The company has applied for a Nasdaq listing under the ticker symbol "STAN" (nasdaq: STAN - news - people).

- Leadis Technology Inc., which makes semiconductors to enable and enhance the features of small panel displays, plans to offer 6 million common shares for between $12 and $14 each. Leadis has applied for a Nasdaq listing under the ticker symbol "LDIS" (nasdaq: LDIS - news - people).

- Medical device provider AngioDynamics Inc. expects to offer 1.95 million common shares for an estimated price of $12 to $14 per share. It has applied for a Nasdaq listing under the symbol "ANGO" (nasdaq: ANGO - news - people).

- Critical Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical firm specializing in the body's response to asthma, plans to offer 6 million common shares and expects them to sell for between $11 and $13 each. Critical Therapeutics has applied for a Nasdaq listing under the symbol "CRTX" (nasdaq: CRTX - news - people).