A selection of Roblox toys are seen on a display at the “Toy Fair” at Olympia London in London, England. Gaming platform Roblox is set to go public this week.
Leon Neal/Getty Images
The high-flying IPO market kicks into gear this week, with gaming platform Roblox leading a slate of at least eight companies that are going public.
So far in 2021, 289 initial public offerings have raised $98.4 billion as of March 8, according to data from Dealogic. This compares to just 34 IPOs, valued at $10.8 billion, for the same time period last year.
The most anticipated deal comes from Roblox, which is scheduled to go public on March 10. The company is using a direct listing, offering about 199 million shares. Roblox will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RBLX. Goldman Sachs Group, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America are acting as financial advisers on the deal.
The NYSE, in consultation with Roblox’s financial advisors, will issue a reference price on Tuesday after the market closes. Roblox is not raising fresh capital with the direct listing.
Founded in 2004, Roblox hosts child-friendly games focused on digital characters resembling Lego blocks. An average of 37.1 million people come to Roblox daily to play games.
Jowell Global is also on tap to trade Wednesday. The Shanghai company is selling 3.7 million shares at $7 each. The company is slated to trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol JWEL, a prospectus said.
Jowell provides an ecommerce platform that sells cosmetics, health and nutritional supplements and household products in China. It also sells its products through authorized retail stores under the brand “Love Home Store” or “LHH Store.”
Coupang, the Korean e-commerce giant, is reportedly scheduled to begin trading on Thursday. The Seoul company is offering 120 million Class A shares at between $27 and $30 each. It plans to list on the NYSE under the ticker CPNG.
Formed in 2010, Coupang is considered the so-called “Amazon of South Korea.” The ecommerce company provides dawn, as well as same day delivery, for items sold on its site, including groceries. Coupang has more than 100 fulfillment and logistics centers in over 30 cities, the prospectus said. It has raised $3.4 billion in funding, Crunchbase said.
Also expected to make its debut Thursday is First High-School Education Group, which is one of the largest operators of private high schools in Western China. It has developed a network of 19 schools, offering 14 high school programs, seven middle school programs and four tutorial school programs. It had 25,857 students as of Sept. 30, including 17,230 high school students and 8,637 middle school students, a prospectus said.
First High School is selling 7.5 million American Depositary Shares at $9.50 to $10.50 a share. Each ADS represents three class A ordinary shares. The company will trade on the NYSE under the symbol FHS. The Benchmark Co, AMTD, Valuable Capital, TF International and Maxim Group are underwriters on the deal.
Four companies are going public Friday, including Joann, Hayward Holdings, Longboard Pharmaceuticals and Prometheus Biosciences.
Joann is the craft retailer backed by Leonard Green & Partners. It is selling 10.9 million shares at $15 to $17 each. The company is expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol JOAN. BofA Securities and Credit Suisse are lead underwriters on the deal.
Joann, of Hudson, Ohio, sells items such as fabric, sewing supplies, and paints and brushes. It had 855 stores as of Jan. 30, down from 867 a year, the prospectus said.
Hayward is known for its swimming pool equipment, which include pumps, filters, heaters and lighting. Its customers include distributors, major pool builders, buying groups, servicers and specialty on-line resellers. Hayward is profitable. Net income jumped more than 4 times to $43.3 million in profit for the year ended Dec. 31 from $8.5 million in income for the same period in 2019. Revenue rose 19.4% to $875.4 million for the year ended Dec. 31, a prospectus said. It had about 2,555 employees.
Hayward is offering 40.3 million shares at $17 to $19 each. It is slated to trade on the NYSE under the symbol HAYW. BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs Group and Nomura are underwriters on the deal.
Biotechnology was one of the busiest sectors of the IPO market in 2020. Two biotechs, Longboard and Prometheus, are ending the week. Arena Pharmaceuticals (ticker: ARNA) formed Longboard in January 2020. The company develops medicines to treat neurological diseases; its most advanced product candidate, LP352, targets developmental and epileptic encephalopathies (DEEs), including Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. The drug is in Phase 1 clinical trial, a prospectus said.
Longboard, like most biotechs, doesn’t have revenue and isn’t profitable. The company reported $14.4 million in losses for the Jan. 3 to Dec. 31 time period, a prospectus said. It has six employees. Arena will own nearly 30% of Longboard after the IPO.
Longboard is selling 5 million shares at $14 to $16 each. It plans to trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol LBPH. Citigroup, Evercore ISI, Guggenheim Securities and Cantor are underwriters on the deal.
Prometheus is developing therapeutics to treat inflammatory bowel disease. Its lead product candidate, PRA023, began a Phase 1a clinical trial in normal healthy volunteers in December. Losses widened to $37.1 million for the year ended Dec. 31 from nearly $30 million in losses in 2019, a prospectus said. Collaboration revenue rose nearly 10% to $1.2 million in 2020. It has 30 full-time employees.
Prometheus is selling 7.4 million shares at $16 to $18. It plans to trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol RXDX. SVB Leerink, Credit Suisse, Stifel and Guggenheim Securities are underwriters on the deal.
Write to Luisa Beltran at [email protected]
