Restaurant operator Bloomin’ Brands (NASDAQ:BLMN) priced its IPO at $11, which was below the proposed range of $13 to $15. But it was enough to entice the interest of investors. So far in today’s trading, the shares are up 14.6%.
Bloomin’ has over 1,500 locations in 49 states and 21 countries. Its brands include Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Roy’s, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.
A couple years ago, Bloomin’ launched a restructuring, which involved a focus on cost cutting and improving the menu items. All in all, the results have been strong. Last year the company posted $3.8 billion in revenues and $361.5 million in adjusted EBITDA. Comparable restaurant sales were also positive for the past eight quarters, and were up 4.9% last year.
For the IPO, Bloomin’ raised $176 million, half of which goes to the company. The lead underwriters on the deal included Bank of America Merrill Lynch (NYSE:BAC), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM).
Tom Taulli runs the InvestorPlace blog IPOPlaybook, a site dedicated to the hottest news and rumors about initial public offerings. He also is the author of “All About Short Selling” and “All About Commodities.” Follow him on Twitter at @ttaulli. As of this writing, he did not own a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
A long-time follower of the IPO scene, back in 1999 Tom started one of the first sites in the space called WebIPO. It was a place where investors got research as well as access to deals for the dot-com boom. Tom also wrote the top-selling book, Investing in IPOs. In it, he covers all the aspects of analyzing an IPO, such as reading the prospectus, detecting the risk factors and understanding some of the arcane regulations. But don’t worry — if that process is too intimidating for you, thankfully Tom will do the legwork for you right here in the IPO Playbook blog.
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