| To: Edwin S. Fujinaka who wrote (101) | 6/28/2000 9:00:00 AM | | From: Glenn Petersen | | | |
DVIN delayed again:
chicagotribune.com
Possible delay in IPO date
for Divine
Analyst questions offering's strength
By Bruce Japsen
Tribune Staff Writer
June 28, 2000
Andrew "Flip" Filipowski's Divine Interventures Inc.
may delay its initial public offering yet again.
The offering of the Lisle-based Internet holding
company, which had been expected to price Thursday
and begin trading Friday, has already been altered a
number of times.
So even if the delay is only until early July, as is now
expected, analysts say it's yet another setback in a string
of troubles in Divine's effort to become publicly traded.
A Divine spokeswoman wouldn't comment, citing a
Securities and Exchange Commission-mandated quiet
period in preparation for the IPO. She didn't, however,
deny reports that Divine planned to push back the IPO
until sometime next month.
Only three weeks ago, Divine restructured its initial
public offering by changing terms of the deal and
switching underwriters.
"They have made a lot of different amendments," said
Michael Falbo, analyst with IpoPros.com, a Boulder,
Colo., firm that tracks initial offerings. "We don't believe
that this deal is in very good shape at all."
But a potential investor who had attended the company's
recent road show told Dow Jones News Service that
the delay most likely wasn't caused by a lack of investor
demand.
Divine will need such investor confidence, given that as
part of the June 5 restructuring it raised the price of the
shares to be offered to between $13 and $15 a share
from the earlier price of $6 to $8 a share. The number of
shares offered in the IPO was slashed to just under 14.3
million from 20 million. The restructured IPO is
expected to raise roughly $200 million, up from $140
million in its previous incarnation.
Founded last year by Filipowski, who is arguably
Chicago's best-known computer personality, Divine
quickly became the most high-profile Internet firm in the
area. The company pulled together $400 million in
funding from a range of Chicago business leaders,
Microsoft Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. and
attracted media attention from around the country.
Filipowski led the charge to promote the new firm,
delivering speeches around Chicago about how
old-economy stalwarts must quickly join the Internet
frenzy or face extinction.
Divine, he said, planned to invigorate the local dot-com
scene by investing in a range of young Internet and
high-tech firms. The company quickly founded or
invested in 52 firms and brought in more than 750
employees, including the people at the companies in
which it made investments.
But Divine's rapid growth slowed earlier this year after
the technology-laden Nasdaq stock market plunged,
temporarily sapping investor interest in speculative
technology ventures. Divine laid off 29 employees in
May as it slowed the pace of its new investments and
delayed construction of its new $62.9 million
headquarters campus on Goose Island, which originally
had a move-in date of this fall.
The City of Chicago contributed $14 million in tax
increment financing for the Goose Island project.
Divine's IPO, if it does indeed go forward, should
provide the company with the money it needs to
continue construction at Goose Island as well as expand
and open new offices in Austin, Texas, Seattle and
abroad.
In addition to the cash infusion from the public offering,
Divine expects to receive $233 million from nine
companies in private placements to take place
concurrently with the IPO. The companies involved in
the private offering include Level 3 Communications,
Compaq Computer Corp. and 360 Networks Inc.
Most technology companies that were preparing public
offerings for this spring and summer have backed off,
either pulling their planned IPOs or going into a holding
pattern to see if the market improves for such ventures.
Divine bucked that trend. In May, the company dumped
its lead investment banker, Credit Suisse First Boston,
which wanted Divine to postpone its public offering. The
firm installed San Francisco-based Robertson Stephens
as its lead investment banker and announced plans to go
ahead with the IPO.
Pitched as a new-economy conglomerate, Divine invests
in Internet firms that do business with each other and
outside clients and rely on the parent company to
provide a range of resources and services. Divine
created numerous service companies to perform specific
functions, including those for public relations (Buzz
Divine), strategic consulting (Experience Divine) and real
estate (DotSpot Divine). |
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| To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (102) | 7/6/2000 9:23:10 AM | | From: Glenn Petersen | | | | From this morning's Chicago Tribune:
chicagotribune.com
Market not looking divine
for tech IPO
By Jon Van
Tribune Staff Writer
July 5, 2000
An initial public offering set for Thursday by Divine
Interventures Inc. looks anything but heavenly to
analysts, and some question whether the IPO will
happen this week as planned.
Tech stocks took a hammering Wednesday as two
software companies warned that their quarterly earnings
will fall short of expectations.
The general jitteriness among investors with tech issues
could be especially bad for Chicago-based Divine
because of an indirect connection to Divine's founder,
Andrew "Flip" Filipowski.
Last year Filipowski sold his previous company,
Platinum Technology International Inc., for $3.5 billion
to Computer Associates International Inc., and
Computer Associates was one of the firms Wednesday
to say its earnings for the quarter will disappoint
analysts.
Computer Associates' stock dropped $21.75, or more
than 42 percent, on the news. Joining Computer
Associates in taking a beating on Wednesday was the
stock of BMC Software Inc., which also issued an
earnings warning and declined $14.19, or nearly 40
percent. And a ripple effect of wider worries about
mainframe computers saw IBM Corp. shares drop as
well, down $4.81, or more than 4 percent.
Divine is an incubator firm that helps accelerate the
growth of young Internet companies, taking an equity
stake in them. Incubators were hot on Wall Street last
year, but they've cooled in the past quarter, and Divine's
plans to go public in the spring foundered when its lead
investment banker Credit Suisse First Boston advised
against an IPO.
In May Filipowski dumped Credit Suisse and hired San
Francisco-based Robertson Stephens to push ahead. A
late June IPO target was missed, and chances it will
proceed this week appear to be fading.
"I've heard nothing concrete, but the IPO market is
relatively soft now," said Charles Rustein, an analyst with
Rorrester Research in Cambridge, Mass. "It's difficult to
see them getting out in this climate."
Filipowski, who has applied his charisma to give Divine's
IPO a high profile, faces a difficult timing problem, said
Rustein.
"If the market sees him try and try to go public but not
make it, then the likelihood of ultimate failure rises," he
said.
Citing the firm's "quiet period" imposed by the Securities
and Exchange Commission, a Divine spokeswoman
wouldn't comment on the IPO.
Even though Divine has attracted investment from big
name tech companies like Microsoft Corp. and Dell
Computer Corp., it needs the IPO to raise money to
fulfill its business plan. After the public offering was
delayed in the spring, Divine laid off 29 employes and
pushed back plans to construct a new campus
headquarters at Goose Island in Chicago.
"They have a good story," said Ullas Naik, senior
vice-president for research at First Albany Corp. in
Boston. "But the market for incubators isn't sturdy just
now."
Two companies similar to Divine—CMGI Inc. and
Internet Capital Group—did go public last year when
investor enthusiasm for the Internet was high. Since
reaching high points late last year, both firms have seen
their share value diminish by more than 75 percent. That
in itself could spook potential investors in Divine.
"They're in trouble either way they go," said Jeff
Hirschkorn, senior marketing analyst with New York
based IPO.com. "It's a good concept and six months
ago, it would have done well in the market.
"But right now the market is terrible. Still, the longer they
wait, the more that hurts them." |
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| To: Mr. Park who wrote (104) | 7/6/2000 5:31:44 PM | | From: gladman | | | | No IPO for DVIN, just saw a news flash... they don't have SEC clearance.
This is becoming a comedy of errors with DVIN as the keystone cops.
How hard ARE they trying to screw this up? |
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| To: gladman who wrote (105) | 7/7/2000 5:35:42 PM | | From: Glenn Petersen | | | | DVIN cuts range:
biz.yahoo.com
Friday July 7, 3:26 pm Eastern Time
Divine Interventures to cut IPO range - underwriter
NEW YORK, July 7 (Reuters) - Divine Interventures Inc., which invests in Internet-related companies, is cutting the price range of
its highly anticipated initial public offering to $9 to $10 per share, lead underwriter Robertson Stephens said on Friday.
The lowered price range will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 10, Robertson Stephens said. The
underwriter declined to give further details.
When Divine last filed with the SEC on June 29, it said it planned to offer 14.285 million shares in an expected pricing range of $13 to
$15.
When the Lisle, Ill.-based company initially filed its IPO plans with the SEC in February, it planned to sell 50 million total shares in a range of $6 to $8 per share. In early April, the company added 15.9 million shares to the offering based on demand. On June 5, the company said it planned to sell about 36 million shares, with 14.28 million being sold to the public at $13 to $15 per share. Credit Suisse First Boston had been lead underwriter until Robertson Stephens took over.
The company plans to sell its shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol ``DVIN'' (NasdaqNM:DVIN - news). |
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| To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (106) | 7/7/2000 9:29:52 PM | | From: The Other Analyst | | | | | Looks to me like this is an issuer who is very particular about the IPO terms and wants to squeeze every bit he can out. He didn't like CSFB telling him he should wait, so he went to Robbie Stephens when they said they could get a higher price. Turns out they couldn't. This guy is not out to make money for the shareholders. I would avoid it. |
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| To: The Other Analyst who wrote (107) | 7/8/2000 2:01:36 AM | | From: Sr K | | | | I would not avoid it ...
Divine, which takes significant investments in Internet
companies and offers them a suite of legal, real estate
and public relations services, has already started shifting
and cutting back its ambitious plans.
... I'd hope they get the offering off, and then I'll follow it closely - it has the potential to be one of the all-time great shorts.
Where is the value added in providing legal, real estate, and pr services? This is an unwieldy mess, set up at a time of an Internet flurry and bubble. It makes no sense to me.
There are private companies, similarly positioned, better focused, with technology and marketing that sets them apart, valued at 1/4 to 1/8 of this bloated company. By this comparison I think a fair value is about $2.00-$3.50 per share.
Anything over $14 is like putting a bullseye on the stock.
One more thing. The name ... the "inter ventures" I get, but the "divine" is so 1999, and if they think they need outside help from above, why would anyone want to invest in it down here? |
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| To: Sr K who wrote (108) | 7/11/2000 10:08:11 AM | | From: Glenn Petersen | | | | DVIN delayed again:
news.cnet.com
Net incubator delays IPO for third time
By Cecily Barnes
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
July 10, 2000, 4:50 p.m. PT
Divine InterVentures may be hoping for some form of intervention--divine
or otherwise.
Today, the Internet holding company postponed its initial public
offering for the third time. It had originally planned its offering
before the end of June. That was changed to last Friday, which was
rescheduled for today.
The company, which funds mostly business-to-business start-ups, now
plans to sell 14.2 million shares at a range of $9 to $10 tomorrow,
according to underwriters Robertson Stephens.
In addition to the delays, Lisle, Ill.-based Divine has changed the
terms of its offering in at least three other ways since December. The
company cut the number of shares offered down from 50 million. It
lowered its pricing range by $4. And it replaced underwriter Credit
Suisse First Boston with Robertson Stephens, after the bank proposed
holding the IPO until this fall.
Divine's frequent tuning of its IPO could be attributed to the pressure
to complete by July 29 an IPO that raises at least $120 million. If
Divine meets these guidelines, it stands to receive an additional $220
million in a private placement from investors including Microsoft and
Hewlett-Packard, said Paul Bard, an analyst with Renaissance Capital.
"That private placement is not valid unless they complete the offering
by the end of the month," Bard said. The company "might be saying, 'OK,
let's take whatever capital we can.'"
Divine, formed in May 1999, consists of 52 business-to-business
e-commerce companies, 15 of which are located within Divine's offices.
Payments from member companies, along with consulting fees and venture
management fees, contribute to the company's revenues.
Divine reported $5.3 million in revenues in the first quarter of 2000
and a loss of $77.4 million.
The company funds mostly business-to-business (B2B) growth companies,
not a current favorite among investors.
"People are a little more wary of the prospects of these smaller B2B
start-ups," Bard said. "It's difficult to value the portfolio of
investments that they have. (The stock's price) is really going to be
driven by what the institutional investors are willing to pay."
Shares of CMGI, an incubator firm similar to Divine, have fallen 71
percent this year, and shares of Internet Capital are down 82 percent
for the year.
If and when Divine's IPO does take place, the shares will trade on the
Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "DVIN." |
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| To: The Other Analyst who wrote (107) | 7/11/2000 7:19:40 PM | | From: Glenn Petersen | | | | DVIN prices at $9:
biz.yahoo.com
Tuesday July 11, 6:51 pm Eastern Time
Divine InterVentures prices ipo at $9/shr
NEW YORK, July 11 (Reuters) - Divine InterVentures Inc. (NasdaqNM:DVIN - news), the highly watched internet and e-commerce company incubator, finally priced on Tuesday at $9 per share, at the bottom of its expected range, after several delays and changed expectations.
The company raised $128.57 million by selling 14.285 million shares. Last week, the Lisle Ill.-based company changed its expected price range to $9-$10 per share from $13-$15 per share.
The company was expected to price last Friday, and then again on Monday, but lead underwriters Robertson Stephens delayed the pricing each time.
Credit Suisse First Boston was the initial underwriters on the pricing, but Divine InterVentures chief executive Andrew ``Flip'' Filipowski, decided to change to Robertson Stephens.
When the company initially filed its IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission in February, it planned to sell 50 million total shares in the range of $6 to $8 per share. The company subsequently altered the price range and the amount of shares it would sell, settling on 36 million, 14.28 million of which were offered to the public.
Divine InterVentures, which will trade under the symbol ``DVIN'' on the Nasdaq exchange, invests in internet and e-commerce companies. |
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