Wall Street is abuzz over the upcoming Fortegra initial public offering (IPO). Indeed, the specialty insurance company and subsidiary of Tiptree (NASDAQ:TIPT), Fortegra Group, is set to go public this Thursday, Feb. 8. What do you need to know about the Fortegra IPO?
Well, the Florida-based company plans to sell about 18 million shares, priced between $15 and $18, to raise about $324 million. This would value the company at $1.52 billion. Fortegra will also allow the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 2.7 million additional shares of the company.
The firm intends to enlist on the New York Stock Exchange under the “TFG” stock symbol.
Fortegra may prove the year’s first major insurance IPO. There are several possible insurance IPO candidates hanging in the air, including Aspen Insurance and The Woodlands Financial Group, both of whom filed for public issuance in the past few months.
Reasonably so, insurance companies have enjoyed strong earnings amid a high-rate environment, reflected by the Dow Jones US Insurance Index, which is currently hovering around its highest level ever.
What Do You Need to Know About the Fortegra IPO?
Fortegra, backed by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, is seemingly taking advantage of the improved economic forecast. Indeed, the primary offering market has been rather barren the past couple of years amid rampant uncertainty and volatile interest rates.
With the “soft landing” economic outcome gradually unfolding and interest rates set to drop later this year, it seems Fortegro is taking advantage of the cheery new sentiments filling the market.
The S&P 500 hit a new all-time high just last week following the release of promising economic data from the January jobs report.
With rates likely to remain elevated for at least into the second quarter of the year, Fortegra may be looking to strike while the iron’s hot.
On the date of publication, Shrey Dua did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
