The Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) debacle has put a freeze on IPOs not only in the U.S. but also globally. Still, it now looks as though the environment is getting better.
The shares of Felda Global Ventures, which went public last night in Malaysia, was up 16% by the end of trading. In all, the company raised $3.1 billion. The lead underwriters included CIMB Investment Bank, Maybank Investment Bank and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS).
Felda is a massive producer of palm oil, with 880,000 acres of plantations in Malaysia. Basically, the IPO is part of the country’s privatization process. With the proceeds from the offering, the government will get 55% of the cash, with the remaining sum going to fund operations. The palm oil business has been growing at a very nice pace.
Felda’s performance is certainly encouraging. Asia has been a tough market for IPOs, as seen with the withdrawals of deals such as Formula One and Graff Diamonds.
– Tom Taulli, InvestorPlace.com
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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