After Groupon, IPO Pipeline Is Thin

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By LYNN COWAN Groupon Inc.'s successful trading debut on Friday eases the way for bankers to bring more companies public in the coming weeks, and the calendar is indeed filling up with deals, but most aren't going to grab investors' interest at the same level. Groupon's stock rose 31% to 26.11 Friday on the Nasdaq after the daily-deals company increased both its price and the amount of stock it sold in its initial public offering, the first IPO to make a gain after boosting its valuation since July. Market observers said a good performance was necessary to improve confidence among IPO investors. "I think it was very important that this offering be successful," said David Schwartz, co-chair of the emerging-companies and venture-capital <a href="http://www.genuineuggsonsaleuk.co.uk"><strong>ugg</strong></a> group with the law firm of Michelman &amp; Robinson in New York. "This was needed with all the gloom and doom that is going around." But that doesn't mean Groupon's shine will carry over to every IPO ahead; investors remain selective about which new stocks they are willing to bet on. That was made clear on Friday, when another offering, for fertilizer company Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP, declined on its first day of trading after pricing at the midpoint of its expected range. "People are really focused on Groupon now, which can be helpful publicity for the IPO market. But investors will be looking for good performance from a broader group of IPOs than just Groupon in the weeks ahead," said Carter Mack, president and co-founder of investment bank JMP Group, which wasn't an underwriter on Groupon or Rentech Nitrogen. On the calendar now are nine IPOs that have set their pricing terms and started readying for investor presentations. All are seeking to raise less than 200 million. None has the buzz that Groupon generated. They include two early stage biopharmaceutical companies without any product revenue; an energy partnership with declining revenue; and an unprofitable online retailer <a href="http://www.cheapuggsonsaleuk4u.co.uk"><strong>cheap uggs uk</strong></a> that targets low- and middle-income consumers with subprime credit scores. Of the group, only two are drawing some interest: data-security software company Imperva Inc., which is aiming to launch Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol IMPV, and local-business-ratings website Angie's List Inc., which is scheduled to begin trading Nov. 17 on the Nasdaq under the symbol ANGI. Although Imperva has never been profitable, its customer base includes some of the top five companies in the telecom, U.S. commercial-banking and financial-data-service sectors, and it has decent top-line growth, with revenue in the first nine months of 2011 up 43% from the same period a year earlier, to 55 million. Angie's List, while also unprofitable, is a recognizable consumer Internet brand, and its nine-month revenue was up 46% to 63 million. Investors' focus could change swiftly if online game developer Zynga Inc. gets around to filing its IPO terms and kicking off a "roadshow" of investor meetings. That would be considered a prime deal, and it is widely expected to launch before the end of the <a href="http://www.genuineuggsonsaleuk.co.uk"><strong>genuine ugg</strong></a> year. But so far the company hasn't taken the final leap that would put it firmly on buyers' calendars. Write to Lynn Cowan at lynn.cowan@dowjones.com