Float pipeline is still flowing freely

We’re still collating the numbers here are dbdata but it looks like last year was the strongest for initial public offerings on record. And the indications are that this year will still be active without featuring the big ‘whales’ like Medibank and Healthscope.

However, the one that everyone is starting to talk about is the $3 billion initial public offering from business accounting software company MYOB with an initial road show pressing the flesh in North America. Expect to see more on this after the interim profit-reporting season.

The private equity-owned Link Market Services might be lying low at the moment but there are indications it could join the list later in the year depending on market conditions.

Other offerings in the tech hemisphere are coming from e-commerce group Touchcorp that uses technology to enhance the capabilities of EFTPOS terminals. The business has been around since 2000 and is debt-free and cash flow positive with an impressive list of clients both here and overseas. Enterprise value has been mooted at $200 million.

Conveyancing and legal services technology group InfoTrack is looking to float in the first half the year. The company has more than 3100 law and conveyancing firms as clients. The company allows law firms and conveyancers to search for information including property titles, plans and dealings, as well as offering services such as settlements, stamping and document registrations.

More in the social media world is Crowd Mobile, which charges users of its mobile apps for answers to any question you can think up no matter how esoteric or mundane. It should join the market soon.

And keep watch for tech stocks coming in through the backdoor. US-based social media software company Manalto is the latest to engineer a reverse takeover to help its initial public offering. In October last year, Healthlinx announced the acquisition of Manalto before revealing its intention to sell all its biotech assets and change its name to Manalto. The deal is subject to shareholder approval in February.

Manalto helps organise and manage social media accounts across businesses and locations using a central dashboard, usually based at a head office.

Another tech stock with some interesting names involved is security group Future Fibre Technologies which could float this year as its seeks to raise more capital. The company is majority-owned by private equity firm Pierce Group Asia, which floated cloud-computing business Urbanise last year.

Other companies in line include software developer WiseTech Global, health company GenesisCare, online retail group AussieCommerce and ­housing parks business Gateway.

In the biotech space is Melbourne start-up Sienna Cancer Diagnostics, which is backed by ex-Macquarie boss Allan Moss. According to the AFR the company has signed its first deal with an American pathology company paving the way for a potential float later this year. The company, which was a beneficiary of the now defunct Commercialisation Australia grant program, would be looking for $10 million, says the Review.

And lastly comes the big news that Australia’s largest grower and distributor of fruit and vegetables, the Costa Group, is actively pursuing an initial public offering in the first half of this year. The aim is to tap into Asia’s growing demand for fresh food. The company has its family roots back in the late 19th Century and is still family run today. No financial details as yet.

Go Back