IPO Wave Continues With 3 New Deals

Investors’ renewed hunger for initial public stock offerings afforded decent receptions for three issues Wednesday.

Weight Watchers International Inc. raised $417.6 million by selling 17.4 million shares at $24 each--above the expected range of $21 to $23. The deal won’t bring new capital to Woodbury, N.Y.-based Weight Watchers, however: Most shares sold were offered by its parent, Artal Luxembourg.

Computer game software maker Bam Entertainment of San Jose also went public Wednesday, selling five million shares at $8 each. That was the mid-point of the expected price range, but that range had been reduced from between $12 and $14 a few weeks ago.

Also selling shares was orthopedic sports medicine firm DJ Orthopedics, based in Vista, Calif. The company sold 9 million shares at $17 each, the mid-point of its expected price range.

Interest in IPOs has been rejuvenated by the stock market’s rebound since late September, though investors remain much choosier than they were in the heyday of new offerings, in 1999 and early 2000, analysts say.

Weight Watchers will begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol WTW. DJ Orthopedics, also listing on the NYSE, will trade under the symbol DJO. Bam will begin trading today on Nasdaq under the symbol BFUN.

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How Recent IPOs Have Fared

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