By John Filar Atwood
A rough stretch for the stock market fueled largely by coronavirus worries did not deter IPO-hopeful companies from filing their offering plans last week. Ten companies filed new registrations in 2020’s busiest week for new registrants. In contrast, the market saw only one completed offering, a $216 million deal by central nervous system therapies developer Passage Bio Raises. Overall, the IPO market accelerated in February with 20 new issues, eight more than in January. In the first two months of the year 32 deals have been completed, ten more than in January and February of 2019.
New registrants. The week’s activity included the first two prepackaged software industry new registrations of the year, which were filed by Zoominfo Technologies and Procore Technologies. Zoominfo’s cloud-based platform tracks information on organizations and individuals for sales and marketing teams. Procore provides information management software for the construction industry, including contractors, architects and engineers. The pharmaceutical preparations industry added ORIC Pharmaceuticals and NLS Pharmaceuticals to its list of 2020 preliminary filers. ORIC develops therapies designed to counter resistance mechanisms in cancer, while Switzerland-based NLS makes treatments for rare central nervous system disorders. Affiliated blank checks companies (SIC 6770) Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. II and Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. III registered. Both will pursue technology industry targets, with Social Capital II searching in the U.S. and Social Capital III looking outside the U.S. SIC 6770 also saw new filings by Collective Growth and GigCapital3. Collective Growth will target regulatory-compliant cannabis companies, and Gig Capital3 will search for an acquisition partner in the technology, media and telecommunications industries. The week’s other new registrants were Pulmonx and Accolade. Pulmonx, which will pay a success fee to Oxford Finance upon completion of its IPO, provides treatments for severe emphysema. Accolade offers technology-enabled solutions to help users navigate the healthcare system and workplace benefits. The pace of new registrations remained steady in February with 23, one more than in January. In all, 45 companies filed their preliminary IPO plans as of the end of February, 18 more than the 2019 two-month total.
Withdrawals. No companies withdrew their pending registrations last week, and February finished with two Forms RW, the same as in January. Four companies withdrew as of the end of February, three fewer than in the first two months of last year.
The information reported here is gathered using IPO Vital Signs, a Wolters Kluwer Regulatory U.S. database that includes all SEC registered IPOs, including REITs and those non-U.S. IPO filers seeking to list in the U.S. markets. IPO Vital Signs does not track closed-end funds, best efforts or non-underwritten deals, or IPO offerings for amounts less than $5 million.