Even a profitable company like smart card developer Gemplus International got the glare from the Grinch last week.
In order to go public, the company decided to reduce the number of planned common stock shares to 35.8 million from the 39.2 million originally planned. It also lowered the price range of its American Depositary Shares to between $10.08 and $10.96, down from the $12.35 to $14.05 range. Each ADS represents two shares of stock.
Gemplus priced its IPO late Dec. 7 at $10.70 per ADS. However, it postponed listing its stock in Paris and its ADS on Nasdaq until Dec. 11 because of a delay in registering the securities for trading in the United States, according to a Reuters report.
More than capital raising, this IPO is intended to create a public market for the company’s stock. However, Gemplus plans to use some of the proceeds for business expansion and acquisitions in the United States, Japan and China.
Gemplus posted net income of $31 million during the first half of 2000, compared with just $1 million it earned during the same period of 1999.
