Azurix's giant IPO stays afloat
Enron water spinoff raises nearly $700 million
By Darren Chervitz, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 6:09 PM ET Jun 10, 1999
Net Stocks
Internet Daily
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Azurix notched a slight gain Thursday on its
stock-market debut after the manager of water and wastewater assets
raised $695 million in its initial public offering, the biggest deal since
Goldman Sachs' last month.
Azurix (AZX: news, msgs), a spinoff from gas and
electricity giant Enron (ENE: news, msgs), sold 36.6
million shares at $19, the low end of the estimated
range.
The stock opened for trading on the New York
Stock Exchange flat at the offering price and closed
the day at 19 1/8. Enron, which sold more than half
of the shares in the IPO, gained 1/4 to 78 9/16.
Azurix, with 8.6 million shares changing hands, was the eighth-most-active
stock on the Big Board.
The Houston company's operations include the
collection and treatment of drinking water, and the
collection and disposal of wastewater and its
by-products.
According to the prospectus, governments around
the country are beginning to turn over control of their
water assets to private companies such as Azurix. The document cites
statistics from Public Works Financing statistics that say there were
approximately 380 water and wastewater projects either planned or
completed with private-sector participation worldwide at the end of last
October, accounting for a total cost of $74 billion.
Azurix is the pick of the week for Renaissance
Capital, a Greenwich, Conn.-based asset
management firm that runs the IPO Fund (IPOSX:
news, msgs).
At least Azurix was able to hang above its offering
price. According to Thomson Financial Securities
Data Corp., one in three 1999 Internet IPOs are
trading below their offering prices, and more than
half of May's Net deals are below the offering price.
The first-day pop for Internet IPOs has also
subsided, declining to an average of 88 percent in the
second quarter, compared to 158 percent in the first
quarter, the research company said.
Still watching and waiting. Yahoo shows a PE of 26 and change. I understand where your coming from Mike with the PE of 11 but most people don't. A pe of 20 would put us at 15 5/8's. Don't think we'll get there but I am hoping.
Big Guy |
