Telecom, ‘E-Tail’ Offerings Fare Well

The thirst for telecom and “e-tailing” IPOs intensified Thursday as Pac-West Telecomm Inc. and Tickets.com Inc. surged in their Nasdaq trading debuts and Webvan Group Inc. increased the size of its offering, raising $375 million.

Newport Beach-based Tickets.com (ticker symbol: TIXX), which sells tickets to sporting and cultural events, rose $6.75, or 54%, in its initial public offering to close at $19.25, giving the company a market value of $1.1 billion. It raised $83.8 million in a deal led by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.

Stockton, Calif.-based Pac-West Telecomm (PACW), which provides lines for phone and data in Western states, rose $8.44, or 84%, to $18.44, giving it a value of $616 million.

Meanwhile, the cooling-off period the Securities and Exchange Commission ordered for Webvan Group (WBVN) apparently has only made the online grocer hotter. The Foster City, Calif.-based company sold 25 million shares at $15 each, a month after postponing its IPO because of concerns over publicity. Goldman Sachs led the deal. The stock begins trading today.