Ed - looks very interesting.
The Mainframe IPO is getting underway this week. Schedule is
Montreal - May13, Toronto May 14, Boston May 15, NYC May 20, San Fran May 21, Vancouver May 22. Chicago's somewhere in there, but I don't know when.
What I'm hearing.
Monday was the internal dry-runs for the investment bankers. I was told the roadshow is great. They've animated characters to give a tour of the facility and talk with management. Chris Brough, the CEO, was extremely enthusiastic and articulate in stating the merits of their production techniques and the burgeoning demand for their production. The JV partners they have are great, Storyopolis (Paul Allen), IMAX, Henson Int'l, Hasbro, Warner Bros. Approached by Disney, Paramont, Universal, etc.... Had ananimator there to animate characters and show how easy and quick they've made it. Short take: One broker from Yorkton said it was the best IPO presentation she'd ever seen. Evidently, many people brought their children! Someone told me they asked the best questions.
My First Marathon contact said two 10% orders came in before the "official" roadshow and a pretty good sized order from Kuwait of all places. (Are the shows on in Kuwait?)
Tuesday was in Montreal and 50 people showed up for the institutional presentation (which is extremely good in Montreal). Very good interest, orders flowed in, I don't know how much.
Wednesday: Toronto Roadshow was today --heard it was absolutely packed. At least one C$5mil order came into FM (that's 16% of issue) and accounts that usually don't bother with small caps were interested. One salesmen mentioned that a few clients bought because their kids are so into the shows! It's a real small issue (C$36million) so it sounds like it's tightening up already and they haven't hit Fidelity-land, NYC, Chicago, San Fran, or their hometown of Vancouver. Hopefully, they'll just increase the offer and take out the old parent (Alliance Comm) entirely. That would increase the shares offered by $3mil. I hope they don't increase the price instead.
If you haven't seen it yet, try to get a hand on the prospectus. It's got plenty of info on the company and their JV deals and great graphics of the new characters etc..
As for new items I found: There are 4 TV shows in discussion. I'm hearing that a major HongKong toy maker has approached them for a show based on the blockbuster game "MDK" and for a Spice Girls show. Also, IMAX announced they want to do a feature length 3D movie with Mainframe based on a science fiction series (it was announced in the IMAX annual general meeting).
If one tenth of this comes in for them in the next twelve months, it could be huge for a company with a market cap of only C$130mil (US$100). Figure ever new TV show gives them operating profits of between US$1.7-2.5mil plus future distribution fees (remember, they will not work on anything without some ownership and residuals). A movie would bring in US$10-$15 in EBIT and a chunk of net income.
I'm going for a share price of $20-25 by year end. IPO range is C$9.50-11.00. |
