NetSuite IPO $26/share
Today the highly anticipated NetSuite (NYSE: N) IPO kicked off at $26 a share, far above the initial $13 to $16 reported in the registration to go public.
San Mateo, Calif.-based NetSuite is involved in the sexy business of "on-demand", or subscription based software. It has benefited from the attention drawn due to its backing from Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL) CEO Larry Ellison. Ellison owns as much as 61% of NetSuite’s outstanding stock.
NetSuite’s IPO was unique in that it was issued in a Dutch auction. From The New York Times:
Auctions allow mom and pop investors greater access to initial public offerings, which are usually reserved chiefly for institutional investors. But according to Dealogic, there have only been 21 auction-style initial public offerings since 1995. The most visible one was the 2004 offering by Google, which used a modified version of the auction process.
Sources: dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com, MarketWatch.com
Aaron Graves @ December 20, 2007