New York: Sensata Technologies Holding NV led three companies last week that proposed to raise $1 billion (Dh3.67 billion) combined through initial public offerings (IPO), more than half the amount sold this year in a slumping US IPO market.
Sensata, which makes sensors for Ford Motor Co. and Samsung Electronics Co., is seeking as much as $632 million, based on terms of its IPO disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. The sale of 31.6 million shares at $18 to $20 each would be the biggest on US exchanges in 2010, Bloomberg data show. Baltic Trading Ltd., formed to operate dry bulk cargo ships, and Financial Engines Inc., an advisory firm co-founded by Nobel laureate William Sharpe, set terms last week for sales to raise $381 million.
The announcements came after deteriorating demand for US IPOs forced American companies to chop their offerings by 30 per cent on average since January. While Barclays Plc of London projects initial offers will triple to $50 billion this year, at least seven companies have postponed or delayed their sales and buyers have extracted concessions in every deal.
"It's been a few steps forward, a few more steps back kind of market," said Frederic Dickson, the Lake Oswego, Oregon-based chief market strategist at DA Davidson & Co, which oversees $23 billion. "We get the feeling companies are starting to get ready to come public, but it seems the market environment has been very tough."
