Is IPO market set to rebound after Facebook debacle?

By Matt Krantz, USA TODAY

July 27, 2012

Q: What kinds of companies have filed to go public since the Facebook debacle?

A: Investors have gone on an IPO strike ever since the Facebook fb deal.

Just when the initial public offering market was looking better in April, Facebook hit with a thud. After the value of the shares fell, rather than rose as many expected, the entire market for initial public offerings suffered. It took 39 days for a single company to price its IPO, says Renaissance Capital.

Proponents of IPOs, though, say that the IPO freeze could be quick to thaw. IPOs tend to pick up when the broad market does better. If the market starts to act better, as European leaders try to take steps to fix problems there, that could open the door for IPOs.

Companies are starting to muster up the courage to shoot for IPO dreams again. Eight companies filed for IPOs in June, which was down considerably from the 23 that did in June 2011. Meanwhile, another nine companies have filed for IPOs in July.

A few of the companies that have recently filed for IPOs include:

• Javelin Mortgage, a real-estate investment trust, for $115 million.

• Debt-collector Performant Financial for $150 million.

• Soccer team Manchester United for $100 million.

• Biopharmaceutical company GlobeImmune for $69 million.

• Coty, a company that makes cosmetic products, in late June filed one of the largest IPOs, slated to raise $700 million.

Investors will have to wait weeks if not months to see if any of the companies successfully pull off their IPOs.

But eventually investors will forget about the Facebook debacle, especially if the stock market and some recent IPOs start doing better.

Matt Krantz is a financial markets reporter at USA TODAY and author of Investing Online for Dummies and Fundamental Analysis for Dummies. He answers a different reader question every weekday in his Ask Matt column at money.usatoday.com. To submit a question, e-mail Matt at mkrantz@usatoday.com. Follow Matt on Twitter at: twitter.com/mattkrantz