fbr.com Introduces New Technology Platform: Offering Marketplace(SM);
Will Distribute New Issues to Millions of Investors in Seconds
Exclusive 'Conditional Offer' System First Step Beyond Online IPOs;
Firm Expands Role as Internet-based Capital Provider
ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group,
Inc. (NYSE: FBR) today introduced Offering Marketplace(SM), a revolutionary
new system that makes it possible -- for the first time ever -- to distribute
an entire offering online, making millions of shares available to millions of
investors in seconds. With this tool, FBR continues to broaden its abilities
as an online capital provider, eliminating the antiquated "ceiling" on the
number of investors who can participate in online offerings.
"Offering Marketplace is a quantum leap forward over the labor-intensive
confirmation and reconfirmation process that is currently in place for online
IPO and new issue investors," said Suzanne N. Richardson, President of
fbr.com, FBR's online investment bank. "This new technology platform
automates the time-consuming steps that, in the past, have resulted in only a
fraction of an issuer's total shares being offered online. Until now, online
investors were required to reconfirm their interest in an offering via email.
In turn, these emails had to be entered into a database by the underwriter,
creating the opportunity for human error and requiring a significant amount of
time. As a result, a ceiling has existed on the number of shares that could
be distributed to online investors."
W. Russell Ramsey, President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of FBR said,
"Offering Marketplace gives us the ability to price issues more effectively
and complete spot secondary offerings online because it enables FBR to have,
at any time, an accurate picture of aggregated investor demand for a security
at different price levels. Coupled with our investment banking and venture
capital expertise, Offering Marketplace enables us to take another step toward
the creation of a next generation capital provider that can meet the changing
needs of the marketplace."
Key features of Offering Marketplace:
* Ends the need for investment banks to manually re-enter the results
of the email traffic with their clients into the master database --
eliminating any delay between receipt of information and final
confirmation of share allocation.
* Automates the allocation and execution process.
* Drastically improves communication speed between online investors
and underwriters.
* Allows investors to enter a limit range within which they want to
participate, rather than a static limit price.
* Further automates the suitability review for online investors,
friends and family, and affinity group investors.
Key benefits of Offering Marketplace:
* Millions of shares can now be disseminated to millions of online
investors in seconds.
* Multiple offerings can be conducted simultaneously.
* Offerings of new issues -- IPOs and Secondaries -- can be priced and
trade on the same day.
* Removes the "ceiling" on the number purchasers who can participate
in an online offering.
* Increases the accuracy of customer orders by negating the
possibility of human error in re-entering the data.
* Prevents emails from getting lost on the Internet, or being trapped
behind firewalls, thereby delaying their arrival until after the
offering deadline.
* Provides each customer with real-time updates on the status of an
offering they want.
"A browser-based system, Offering Marketplace is the result of about
40,000 man-hours of development," Richardson said. "In addition to its
automated allocation procedures, Offering Marketplace also includes a built-in
compliance and suitability mechanism that significantly improves the process
already in place. Offering Marketplace allows us to re-assess an individual
investor's suitability for each offering -- and inform them if that investment
is inappropriate. It's important that investors understand as soon as
possible if a specific investment is unsuitable for them so that they don't
build-up any unrealistic expectations."
Offering Marketplace also allows investors to set a limit range within
which they want to purchase an offering. "This feature allows investors much
greater control over the price they will pay to participate in an offering,"
Richardson said.
Ramsey noted: "The development and deployment of Offering Marketplace is
a recognition of the power of online retail and institutional investors, and
further evidence of our commitment to democratize the IPO process by enabling
more investors than ever before to participate. As technology continues to
advance, and individual investors gain even more access to the marketplace,
issuers will need to respond to that demand."
"The entire capital markets business is in the middle of a major
transformation as a result of the Internet," Ramsey said. "Our new platform
will enable us and our strategic partners to take advantage of all of those
developments," he added. FBR will make this technology available to its
strategic partners.
"fbr.com has continued to expand our pledge to democratize the IPO
process," Richardson added. "In November 1999, we distributed what we believe
to be one of, if not the largest, percentage of shares ever given to online
investors by any investment bank as part of the NetCreations IPO." About 20
percent, or 600,000 shares, were provided to online investors in this FBR-lead
managed offering. Since fbr.com was launched in April 1999, it has
distributed shares in 24 online offerings, with another five offerings
expected shortly.
In 1999, FBR and fbr.com have participated in 90 transactions representing
more than $12.7 billion in investment banking and corporate finance
transactions for companies across the country.
Friedman Billings Ramsey Group, Inc. (NYSE: FBR) is an investment bank,
asset manager, and venture capital firm. It is the parent company of
Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. Inc., and of fbr.com, the Company's online
investment bank. Headquartered in Northern Virginia, home to many of the
world's leading Internet companies, the Company is a leading underwriter and
provides research on 430 companies. fbr.com, a division of FBR Investment
Services, Inc., provides online investors access to IPOs, follow-on offerings,
research, and trading. FBR has offices in Arlington, Va., London, Boston,
Chicago, Irvine, Ca., and Reston, Va. For more information, see www.fbr.com.
Statements concerning future performance, developments, negotiations or
events, concerning expectations or plans and objectives for future operations
or for growth and market forecasts, and any other guidance on present and
future periods, constitute forward-looking statements that are subject to a
number of factors, risks and uncertainties that might cause actual results to
differ materially from stated expectations or current circumstances. These
factors include but are not limited to the effect of demand for public
offerings, activity in the secondary securities markets, available
technologies, competition for business and personnel, and general economic,
political and market conditions.
SOURCE Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group, Inc.
-0- 01/07/2000
/CONTACT: Media: Michael W. Robinson of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey
Group, Inc., 703-312-1830 or mrobinson@fbr.com/
/Web site: fbr.com |
