Deals wrap: LinkedIn boosts IPO, pushes more air into bubble
LinkedIn, the social networking site for professionals, boosted the pricing of its initial public offering by 30 percent valuing the 9-year old company at a little over $4 billion, or about 17 times their 2010 revenue.
LinkedIn’s IPO, which is scheduled for Thursday, comes on the heels of what appears to be an unsuccessful offering Renren.
Earlier this month Renren, one of the biggest social networking sites in China, stock surged 29 percent in their debut but it has since dropped to below its IPO price.
The poor showing of Renren has not slowed investors appetite for a chance to gobble up another slice of the social networking pie. Two other Internet giants are expected to go public sometime in the near future. Groupon may be valued as high as $20 billion and Facebook could be north of $100 billion.
Is this the start of another tech bubble or will investors rue the day they passed on the social network pie?
Yesterday Deals wrap told you that BP was in talks about buying out its Russian partners in TNK-BP, in conjunction with state-controlled Rosneft, and other options to ease passage of a stalled share swap and Arctic exploration deal.
However today came news that the deal has collapsed. The tie-up unraveled because BP failed to mollify partners in its existing Russian venture TNK-BP. They argue the British company had no right to strike a new deal in the country without them.
Deals wrap: Facebook, Google dueling suitors for Skype
Internet giants Facebook and Google are separately considering a tie-up with Skype after the Web video conferencing service delayed its initial public offering, two sources with direct knowledge told Reuters. A Skype deal could be valued at $3 billion to $4 billion, according to one of the sources.
Swiss commodity trader Glencore’s planned $11 billion listing was fully covered on its first day as investors rushed to take part in the mega-float, two sources close to the deal said on Thursday. Investors placed orders for all the shares on offer, including a 10 percent overallotment option, sources said, adding it was too soon to say where in the indicated 480-580 pence ($0.79-0.95) range the shares would be priced.
Warner Music Group could reach a deal to sell itself as soon as close of business on Thursday when the board meets to make a final decision, according to two sources. The world’s third largest music company is expected to be sold for over $3 billion and leading the bidding is Russian-American industrialist Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries.
Shareholders in Actelion threw their weight behind the management of Europe’s largest biotech company, rejecting proposals by activist investor Elliott Advisors as a battle for control came to a head. New York-based hedge fund Elliott has urged the Swiss biotech group to seek a buyer after a string of product setbacks and has accused Actelion of pursuing a high-risk strategy that has eroded shareholder value.
Looking back over April, a month that has seen 31 companies file to go public in the U.S., this piece by Gwen Robinson for FT.com’s Alphaville explains the significance of the bumper crop of IPOs filed this month, including RenRen, Dunkin’ Donuts and Glencore, and why the recent IPO mania seems to be a global trend.
