Compliments of The May Report:
Divine InterVentures / IPO 2: R. Stephens Now Leading IPO
by Raymond Hennessey
11:51 ET
Dow Jones News Service
(Copyright (c) 2000, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- As expected, divine interVentures Inc., the Chicago
Internet incubator, restructured its initial public offering, switching
underwriters and changing the terms of the deal.
In a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, divine
interVentures confirmed that it changed lead underwriters to Robertson
Stephens over previous lead Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. (Z.CSF).
The move in underwriters was expected for two weeks after the company's
head, charismatic venture-capitalist Andrew "Flip" Filipowski, sent an
e-mail to company employees outlining some changes in the IPO.
Bankers at Credit Suisse were apparently trying to urge Filipowksi to put
off the offering, given that many other new issues have faltered in the
current market climate.
But Filipowski wanted the deal to go forward, according to sources within
the company, and chose Robertson Stephens, a unit of FleetBoston Financial
Corp. (FBF), apparently because a former Credit Suisse banker with whom he
had a strong relationship, Cameron Lester, left Credit Suisse earlier this
year.
The rest of the underwriting team, including Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette
Securities Corp., Bear Stearns & Co., William Blair & Co. and DLJDirect
Inc., remained in place.
The number of shares offered in the IPO was slashed to just under 14.3
million, from 20 million, while price talk rose to between $13 to $15 a
share, from just $6 to $8. The new filing gives divine interVentures's IPO
a prepricing valuation of $200 million, as opposed to the previous IPO
value of $140 million. |
