FreeServe IPO Goes Off Well
from the internet-mania-across-the-pond dept
Well, it’s not that big of a surprise, but I guess it’s worth mentioning that the British ISP that made free ISPs famous: FreeServe, has had a pretty good IPO, at least by British standards. A 40% increase is certainly nice, but call us when you have a really ridiculous IPO like we’re used to over here.
Comments on “FreeServe IPO Goes Off Well”
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But…their pre-IPO pricing is different than here, I believe; they work more closely with brokerages to set the price closer to what the general public will likely pay for the stock. This is a distant memory — perhaps TD readers in UK can comment?
Freeserve IPO
[As someone on the other side of the pond] – I don’t think they price IPO’s any differently over
here than in the US – we just haven’t been hit by the Tech-Stock fever you guys have been experiencing yet…….
[If you think about it wouldn’t make sense to deliberately underprice an offering – the company issuing the Equity is effectively throwing away good money……..]
Re: Throwing away money
The “throwing away money” argument of underpricing an IPO is what I’ve been telling folks for years, but no one listens. That’s because to most people, the important money is what the individuals who own the stock get, and not what the company raises… It’s the companies that are trying to raise money that are getting screwed by the underpricings, and I’m surprised that those companies don’t get pissed off back at the underwriters. My guess is that the fact that the principals in the company have become so filthy stinkin’ rich following the IPO, that they just don’t care…
Meanwhile, there’s a ridiculous perception among retail investors that an IPO has to shoot up to insane heights if it’s really worth anything.
Ah… what a fun marketplace.