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Caldera Prices Its IPO
A reader writes, "Caldera has priced its IPO. See here in Wideopen for what little there is to read about it. " Summary: $7-9 expected range of price, while selling 5 million shares. Update: 02/26 01:31 by R : Slightly deeper story at News.com.
So that means it'll open to the public at what... $30? I'd really like to purchase some of this, but I don't really see it happening (not by fault of them, but by my own. Same reason I don't own any RedHat or VA).
Well, Just realized that my first sentence was the only relevant thought I had on the matter, so, I'll just take this time to congratulate them, and wish them a very well IPO.
This is noting compared to linux-pets.com's expected price.
For a more in-depth look at the IPO, click here for IPO.com's filing.
What's your damage, Heather?
Have you checked the stock prices on Linux stocks lately? Sure, a lot of people who got in quick made a great buck, but anybody who bought after the first month is really getting clobbered.
RedHat - opened at $7, rocketed to $151, now $68.
VA Linux - opened at $30, rocketed to $320, now at $113.
Cobalt - opened at $22, rocketed to $172, now $104.
This sends a message to Wall Street - get in fast on Linux IPO's, and then dump them on the unwitting public. It also sends a subliminal message about Linux as a whole - that it's not a long-term option, only a short-term one. (I'm not saying I agree, but that's the subliminal message.)
What's your damage, Heather?
Nope. Brento's prices are adjusted for the split that happened in early January. Those $45 were before the split and would be $22.5 split adjusted. Thus, even at today's pricing, that's still the triple!
> In the end it boils down to dividends...But if those companies keep year after year of steady losses and no dividends there's no way their prices will ever go up again.
Actually, not quite true either. There is one (in)famous company which never paid any dividends, but nevertheless gained value year after year. Yes, it is indeed that company that we all love to hate...
Marjo Wycam, Master of the Programming Arts
This is why you see things like all of Amazon's stock changing hands four times in its first week. The VC's get in at prices you wouldn't believe and get out before you can even place a trade.
Does anyone else see a partial Micky Mouse painted on a globe whenever they see that logo?
Given Disney's litigiousness, I predict a future lawsuit. :)
--
is what it looked like to me, yes it does.
In related matters, it may be a not so good time for IPO's, the market in general appears to have peaked around last Dec., and economists are talking about 'soft landings' again - don't think I've heard that for several years. And I can't beleive Greenspan said he sees "no sign of inflation" with a straight face - he obviously doesn't pump his own gas into the limo! When they worry about price rises and jack up interest rates bonds perform better than stocks.
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
Due to Caldera's distant relationship with Novell, I thought it would be worthwhile to point out that they are rele asing NDS and GroupWise for Linux. I think something like this could hype up the value of Caldera and RedHat stocks, and might offer these companies some way to actually make money.
Its a Disney logo in disguise! check here AHHHHH!
-- dieman - Scott Dier
This is likely the end of Caldera as a viable Linux vendor. The moment any company issues an IPO, they cease to be an economically signifigant business. The main impetus of their activity becomes financial activity - playing the stock market - and ceases to be competitively providing goods and services to the market. And the people who founded the company, with the original intent of earning profit by selling a quality Linux distribution, will no longer be the actual owners of the company. Their policy will now be determined by a corporate bureaucracy at the behest of stockholders, whose main purpose in investing is to gain a short term profit without regard for the actual business operations of the company. The stock market is anti-Capitalistic, anti-Individualistic, and detrimental to the economy. Caldera has, in issuing its IPO, handed the company over to the practical equivalent of Las Vegas gamblers.
Always liked this 'rags-to-riches' story:
A golf caddy asked a patron how he'd earned his fortune. The Billionaire replied, "Son, it was the depths of the depression in the 30's. I was down to my last nickle. One morning I bought an apple with that nickle and polished it all day. At the end of the day I sold it for 6 cents. The next day I did the same, an after a week could afford 2 apples. This went on for several months, at the end of which I'd earned a grand sum of $4.38. Then my wife's father died and left us 3 million dollars".
try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
This isn't to say that it isn't of high quality, but simply that Caldera has been outmarketed and outpromoted by Red Hat.
I just don't see how Caldera can make a go of it unless they drop their witless marketing department and really start working on getting Caldera into more places that matter.
Caldera's only hope at avoiding complete irrelevancy is to bulk up with some quick cash and either start marketing their product for real, or make aquisitions that give it a reason to exist.
The specific text from the filing is on page 69 and 70 of the document, on my printed copy it was pages 74 and 75 of 393...
They say half of the 10% Directed Share Program goes to company employees and insiders and the other half to the Linux community via a program at Wit Capital. Apart from needing to fund a $2,000 account at Wit Capital, there is no more information about the program. I have an email in to ask of this at Wit.
Anyone have more details?
Here goes:
Directed Share Program. At our request, the underwriters have reserved for sale, at the initial public offering price, up to ten percent of the shares of common stock offered in this offering under a directed share program. We currently expect that approximately half of these shares will be offered to directors, officers, employees, business associates, and related persons of Caldera Systems pursuant to a directed share program being administered by FleetBoston Robertson Stephens Inc., and that approximately half of these shares, pursuant to a directed share program being administered by Wit Capital Corporation, will be offered to open source software developers and other persons that we believe have contributed to the success of the open source software community and to the growth of Caldera Systems. We cannot assure you that any of the reserved shares will be so purchased. The number of shares of common stock available for sale to the general public in this offering will be reduced by the number of reserved shares sold. Any reserved shares not purchased will be offered to the general public on the same basis as the other shares offered in this offering.
Purchases of the reserved shares pursuant to the directed share program administered by Wit Capital are to be made through an account at Wit Capital in accordance with Wit Capital's procedures for opening an account and transacting in securities. In addition, Wit Capital is an underwriter of additional shares in the offering. A prospectus in electronic format is being made available on an Internet web site maintained by Wit Capital. In addition, all dealers purchasing common shares from Wit Capital in this offering have agreed to make a prospectus in electronic format available on a web site maintained by each of them. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on the web site and any information contained on any other web site maintained by Wit Capital or any dealer purchasing common shares from it is not part of this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, has not been approved or endorsed by us or any underwriter in its capacity as underwriter and should not be relied on by prospective investors. The National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. approved the membership of Wit Capital on September 4, 1997. Since that time, Wit Capital has acted as a co-lead managing underwriter on one offering, a co-managing underwriter on 61 offerings and a dealer on 107 offerings.