BinB:
You're guessing at GS et al's take, and it certainly wasn't $8 share. Go read the 424B4 prospectus for the facts:
freeedgar.com
26.45 million shares were sold by GS, MSDW, ML and RS in the IPO at $38/share. GS et al got an underwriters discount of $1.995, meaning that the underwriters collectively received around $$53 million for their services. The net to PALM was $36.005/share, plus the $225 million from the shares sold in the private placement to NOK/AOL/MOT for which the underwriters got zero.
Sure GS et al got paid, but they also got the IPO cranked up from a starting $14-$16/share (already a rich valuation) to the final $38/share, giving PALM a starting war chest of over $1 billion in cash instead of around $400 million. So were they worth their fee? If I were Carl Y., I'd say "nice job, thanks a lot guys".
And were they right to get the IPO cranked up to $38/share? PALM's present market valuation would say yes. Imagine how PALM would feel if the IPO had gone out at $15, and the stock never traded under $38? Say like JNPR, priced at $34, never traded below $100? The object of the PALM IPO was to raise maximum cash for PALM, plus retain maximum value for COMS shareholders. I'd say GS et al did a great job on both counts. So as a COMS and now a PALM shareholder, I join Carl Y. in saying "nice job, thanks a lot guys".
David T. |
