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IPOs return with one deal
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September 29, 2001: 7:00 a.m. ET
Given Imaging to sell 5M shares at $12-to-$14 via Lehman, Goldman
By Staff Writer Luisa Beltran
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - One company will brave the troubled waters for initial public offerings this week, but prospects for the IPO are dim.
New issues usually surface during the latter part of September after taking a break for the Labor Day holiday. But the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 successfully put the damper on IPOs.
The dearth of public offerings is the first time that no new issues have gone public during the month of September since December 1975, according to John Fitzgibbon, editor of IPO Desktop.
Yogneam, Israel-based Given Imaging Ltd. will attempt to go public this week, according MCM EquityWatch, which tracks new issues. The IPO is the first new issue since Max Re Capital (MXRE: Research, Estimates) went public on Aug. 14 and dropped 3 percent.
Given Imaging has developed a pill that contains a tiny camera that allows doctors to view a patient's gastrointestinal tract. The pill-containing-camera delivers high quality color images painlessly and in a non-invasive manner, Given Imaging said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
During a typical seven-hour test, the capsule will transmit 50,000 images, the company said. In August, Given Imaging received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration to market the "Given System" in the United States.
While innovative, Given Imaging has yet to earn a profit. "They've never put a dime on their balance sheet," Fitzgibbon said, who said the IPO could rise anywhere from 50 cents to a $1 on its first day.
Given Imaging had $7.4 million in losses on no revenue for the six months ended June 30. The company has $19.5 million in accumulated losses but has yet to recognize any revenue from the sale of the Given System, the company said in its most recent SEC filing.
Given Imaging plans to sell 5 million shares at $12-to-$14 each via Lehman Brothers and Credit Suisse First Boston. The IPO is expected to price Wednesday and trade Thursday under the Nasdaq symbol "GIVN."
Lehman Brothers, lead underwriter on the deal, has been displaced from its headquarters in the World Financial Center, which had been across the street from the World Trade Center before attack. It will be the first IPO for Lehman or any underwriter since Sept. 11.
After the IPO, the wealthy Recanati family of Israel will hold a 48.6 percent stake. 
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