The initial public offering of Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd received a poor response from investors this past week, pricing at the bottom of its estimate range.
But those investors willing to take a bet on the telecom company, a partial spin-off of Hong Kong's conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd, may be rewarded in the long run.
That is because shares of IPOs that are spin-offs or partial spin-offs of parent companies are up on average 20 percent this year, while shares of other IPOs are up on average 13 percent, according to data provider Dealogic.
Of the five largest IPOs this year, three were spin-offs, including the IPO of Genworth Financial Inc, an insurance company spun off by General Electric, and the IPO of Freescale Semiconductor Inc, the semiconductor production unit of Motorola Inc, according to Dealogic.
Shares of Genworth are up roughly 25 percent since their IPO, while shares of Freescale are up 14 percent.
One of the most anticipated deals of the fourth quarter will also be a spin-off - the IPO of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc, a unit of DreamWorks LLC.
But the deals do not always have an easy go of it, and both Genworth and Freescale priced well below their expected range.
Spin-off IPOs can have trouble luring investors who are hesitant of buying shares in a company that a parent has decided it no longer wants as part of its core holdings.
Investors can also be wary of deals in which the money raised is going into the parent company's pocket, rather than directly to the newly public company.
In the case of Hutchison Telecom, or HTIL, Hutchison Whampoa sold 25.7 percent of the existing shares in HTIL.
The deal had trouble wooing investors, who were skeptical of a company that is not expected to be profitable until 2006 or 2007, will not pay a dividend and will not receive proceeds from the share sale.
The spin-off IPOs also do not get the same type of first-day pop as other IPOs. Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida who tracks IPOs, said that from 1980 through 2003, spin-off IPOs notched a first-day gain of almost 11 percent, while other IPOs recorded a first-day gain of close to 20 percent. "Most spin-offs are mature companies where the valuation is based upon what comparable firms are selling for, so in that regard they're easier to value and less subject to hype than other IPOs," Ritter said.
But long-term stockholders can be rewarded for taking a smaller first-day gain.
Three years after going public, IPOs of spin-offs outperformed similar companies by 5 percent, while other IPOs underperformed by 3 percent, Ritter said.
HTIL stock will begin trading in New York under the symbol "HTX" on October 14 and the next day in Hong Kong under "2332".
Also on the calendar for next week is the IPO of Huron Consulting Group Inc, a company founded by former employees of the defunct accounting firm Andersen.
Huron, based in Chicago, provides consulting services to both financially sound and distressed organisations, including corporations, academic institutions, health-care organisations and law firms.
Huron has set its planned IPO at 5 million common shares at an estimated price of $14 to $16 percent share, and it will use the proceeds to redeem preferred stock, to repay debt, and for general corporate purposes, including working capital. UBS Investment Bank and Deutsche Bank Securities are the lead underwriters on the deal.
Huron expects its shares to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "HURN".