Week in Review: FireEye, Rocket Fuel, and the Empire State Building

Earlier this week both FireEye and Rocket Fuel priced their IPOs higher than the expected ranges, indicating that Wall Street certainly has an appetite for Silicon Valley tech companies. Many point to Twitter (which really shouldn’t have filed confidentially) as the source of the IPO activity.

However, it is not just tech IPOs that are making headlines. Empire State Realty has finally set its IPO target of $1.07 billion, Re/Max priced its IPO at $241.5 million, and Hilton announced its $1.25 billion IPO last week. Internationally, Hong Kong’s IPO market is showing life as well.

It seems like the IPO market is warming up. But knock on wood — the markets can be fickle.

Opinions:

• Private Equity Firms Must Remain Cautious of Conflict Issue
• Sponsors Push For Lower Equity Levels in LBOs
• The Boutique Bank Boom
• What You Need to Know About the New Equity-Crowdfunding Model
• What We Know — and Don’t Know — About Corporate Investors
• Selling Online: The Bottom Line on What it Takes
• Buffett Wants to Keep Bernanke Atop Fed

Transactions:

• F5 networks to acquire Versafe
• Groupon Acquires SideTour
• Salt Creek Capital Acquires Ultra Solutions
• Rockbridge Growth Equity Acquires RapidAdvance
• Honeywell Completes Acquisition of Intermec
• TA Associates Buys SoftWriters
• Announced Acquisitions — September 19, 2013
  

Member Spotlight: 

Prospect Partners is a highly experienced private equity investor in smaller lower-middle-market companies, offering a specialized focus, extensive transactional expertise, and a nationwide portfolio. The firm seeks management-led leveraged recapitalizations and buyouts of U.S.-based niche market leaders with revenues under $75 million (EBITDA under $8 million).

Since 1998, Prospect Partners has invested opportunistically in over 100 companies in widely diverse niche manufacturing, distribution and service industries. Situations of interest include leveraged expansions, industry consolidations, corporate orphans, transitional sales, and undermanaged companies.Prospect Partners is currently investing its $200 million Fund III.

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