How Do You Spell IPO Now? T-E-C-H

今年在美国登记进行首次公开募股(IPO)的公司寥寥无几，而它们都来自去年在IPO市场表现不佳的一个类股：科技业。根据Renaissance Capital旗下IPOhome.com网站的数据，过去十年一直都排在IPO公司榜前两位的科技行业，去年和医疗行业并列第三位。今年以来，总共只有三家公司向美国证券交易委员会(SEC)递交了募股书，而且全部都是科技公司。其中一家是中国游戏开发商北京畅游时代数码技术有限公司(Changyou.com Ltd.)，该公司定于4月2日以CYOU的股票代码在纳斯达克市场上市交易。其他两家登记募股的公司分别是软件开发商Medidata Solutions Inc.和餐馆预定服务商OpenTable Inc.，他们尚未确定定价条款。两家公司均不愿就计划的上市时间发表评论。虽然这三家公司的业务模式和财务实力各不相同，但他们都是来自于科技行业；而自去年8月Rackspace Hosting Inc.上市首日暴跌10%以来，就再没有科技公司进入IPO市场融资。Rackspace Hosting上周五收盘报6.25美元，较募股价12.50美元下跌了50%。不过，科技类股近来也有亮点。尽管道琼斯美国软件与电脑服务指数目前点位仍然明显低于去年5月创下的12个月高点，但自本月触及今年以来低点后，一直在稳步上行。虽然畅游时代数码的从业历史并不长，但分析师们对该股前景持乐观态度；该公司首款多人网上游戏《天龙八部》2007年5月才在中国上市。不过，畅游的收入和利润一直在迅猛增长，游戏玩家为游戏中的人物购买虚拟珠宝和魔幻药物的消费推动了该公司的业绩。商业评估网站BizEquity的创始人陶利(Tom Taulli)说，这是眼下一个热门的业务模式，看起来这些玩家非常非常忠诚。此外，中国也是眼下少数几个能保持增长的国家之一。Medidata和OpenTable的前景就不那么明朗了。Medidata为制药公司和医疗设备公司编制临床试验数据的网络软件，拥有包括强生公司(Johnson & Johnson)和武田药品工业(Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.)等知名客户。该公司所欠缺的是雄厚财力：其营运亏损可以追溯到1999年。其次就是该公司客户基础间的整合问题，制药行业最近发生了一系列大型收购案。OpenTable运营网上预定系统，它向注册餐馆按月收取费用，并对每位预定的食客收费。该公司也有亏损的历史；其2006年和2007年通过现金帐户带来的利息实现了净利润，但2008年又被所得税上调所抵消了。OpenTable所处行业正在苦苦应对消费者支出放缓的难题。让食客买卖所预定座位的网站TableXchange上周宣布将于4月1日关闭。网站一位联合创始人说，受经济下滑影响，此类服务的需求大幅萎缩。财务分析软件公司Sageworks Inc.首席执行长汉密尔顿(Brian Hamilton)说，这些公司都没有清晰强劲的前景。它们显然未能保持持续盈利。有鉴于此，我不确定市场会对它们有怎样的反应。就公司发展阶段而言，它们选择现在上市有点操之过急。他说，如果它们能够制定一个非常诱人的募股价，或许还可以有所补救。Lynn Cowan相关阅读中国畅游网计划在美上市 2009-03-19美国新股发行市场显现复苏迹象 2009-03-09


The few companies that have registered in 2009 to launch IPOs in the U.S. are focused on a sector that slipped into the background last year: technology.After a decade of being either the first or second-largest source of initial public offerings, technology companies tied at third last year with health-care offerings, according to data from Renaissance Capital's IPOhome.com Web site.This year, they are the only companies registering prospectuses -- there are only three registrations total -- with the Securities and Exchange Commission.One, Chinese game developer ChangYou.com Ltd., is scheduled to begin trading April 2 on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol CYOU. The other two in registration, software maker Medidata Solutions Inc. and restaurant-reservation service OpenTable Inc., haven't set pricing terms yet. Both declined to comment on when their deals might come out.Though their business models and financial strength vary, the three companies are aiming at a market that hasn't seen a technology deal since Rackspace Hosting Inc. bombed in August, falling 10% on its first day out of the gate. That stock closed Friday at $6.25, 50% below the $12.50-a-share IPO price.Still, there have been glimmers of light among established technology stocks lately. While the Dow Jones U.S. Software & Computer Services Index is well below its 12-month high hit in May, it has been trending up from a year-to-date low it hit this month.Analysts are optimistic about ChangYou.com's prospects, though it has a short track record: Its first online, multiplayer game, Tian Long Ba Bu, hit the Chinese market in May 2007.Yet the company's revenue and profits have increased at a fast clip, fueled by gamers buying virtual gems and magic medicine to bolster their martial-arts-focused characters' online exploits.'It's a hot business model right now, and it looks like these gamers are very, very loyal,' said Tom Taulli, founder of BizEquity, a business valuation Web site. 'Also, China is one of the few countries where there is growth right now.'The prospects for Medidata and OpenTable aren't as clear. Medidata, which makes Internet-based software that organizes clinical trial data for pharmaceutical and medical-device companies, has a host of well-known customers, ranging from Johnson & Johnson to Takeda Pharmaceutical. What it doesn't have is great financials; its operating losses stretch back to 1999. Then there is the matter of consolidation among its customer base; there has been a recent spate of big acquisitions in the pharmaceutical industry.OpenTable, an online-reservation system that charges restaurants a monthly subscription and a fee for each diner seated, also has a history of operating losses; it posted net income in 2006 and 2007 through the interest it earned on its cash accounts, but higher income taxes wiped that out in 2008.The company also is yoked to an industry that has been struggling with slowing consumer spending. TableXchange, a Web site that let diners buy and sell reservations, said last week that it would close April 1. A company co-founder said the need for such a service had collapsed amid the economic downturn.'These are not clean, slam-dunk companies. They clearly haven't sustained consistent profitability. In this case, I'm not sure of the receptions they're going to get. They're going out early in terms of stage of the company,' said Brian Hamilton, chief executive of financial-analysis software firm Sageworks Inc.'The remedy to that would be if they could price the stock at a really attractive price,' he said.Lynn Cowan