Number of IPOs in 2004 Increased By 195%; IPO Activity in Q4 2004 Strongest in More Than Four Years

Number of IPOs in 2004 Increased By 195%; IPO Activity in Q4 2004 Strongest in More Than Four Years

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- 233 companies went public on the major U.S. stock exchanges in 2004, a 195% increase in the number of IPOs over 2003, according to Hoover's, Inc., a leading provider of business information and publisher of Hoover's Online (http://www.hoovers.com/ ). Hoover's quarterly IPO Scorecard (http://www.hoovers.com/ipo/scorecard ) also reported there were more IPOs in 2004 than in 2002 and 2003 combined. The 233 IPOs offered on the NYSE, NASDAQ and AMEX in 2004 raised $43 billion, compared to 79 IPOs in 2003, which raised $16 billion.

Year-in-Review from Hoover's IPO Scorecards

Q1 2004: The majority of Q1 IPOs priced in at the high end of estimates and closed up on their first day of trading. By the end of the quarter, there were twice as many IPOs than in the first six months of 2003.

Q2 2004: By the end of this quarter, the number of IPOs had already surpassed the total for all of 2003. General Electric spinoff Genworth Financial became the year's biggest IPO in terms of money raised.

Q3 2004: Even though many of this quarter's IPOs priced below their estimated per share range, the third quarter also saw the long-anticipated public offering from Google Inc., which continues to trade up.

Q4 2004: This quarter saw both the busiest week (December 13) and busiest month (October) for IPOs since Q3 2000. More companies went public this quarter than in all of 2002 or 2003.

Additional Findings from Hoover's IPO Scorecard for Q4 2004:

* Top Ten Best-Returning IPOs for Q4: Offer Q4 Close Return
Interchange Corporation $8.00 $18.14 127%
CoTherix, Inc. $6.00 $11.92 99%
IntraLase Corp. $13.00 $23.48 81%
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. $20.00 $35.15 76%
FoxHollow Technologies, Inc. $14.00 $24.59 76%
Las Vegas Sands Corp. $29.00 $48.00 66%
Shopping.com, Ltd. $18.00 $28.25 57%
MarketAxes Holdings Inc. $11.00 $17.01 55%
Advance America, Cash Advance
Centers, Inc. $15.00 $22.90 53%
PlanetOut Inc. $9.00 $13.60 51%

* Best First-Day Gain: Arbinet-thexchange, Inc. 66%

Worst First-Day Drop: China Finance Online Co. Limited -10%

* Las Vegas Sands Corp., which closed up 61% on its first day of trading
and continues to trade up, became the first IPO from a U.S. casino
operator since October 2002. Sheldon Adelson's majority stake in the
owner and operator of the Venetian Casino Resort makes him a
billionaire 11 times over.



"While the IPO market virtually shuts down from mid-December to mid- January, the fourth quarter of this year still managed to break a lot of IPO records, paving the way for a busy 2005," said Rachel Brush, Hoover's VP and managing editor. "A number of well-known deals hit the market in 2004, including Google, CB Richard Ellis Group, salesforce.com, Domino's Pizza and DreamWorks Animation. The top three IPO industry sectors for 2004 in terms of IPO pricings were Biopharmaceuticals & Biotherapeutics, Medical Devices, and Mortgage & Investment REITs."

Hoover's provides continuously updated information about thousands of private and public companies worldwide and analyzes the IPO market daily to produce the quarterly IPO Scorecard, a regular wrap-up of IPO activity, released on the IPO Central section of Hoover's Online. Each IPO Scorecard includes an assortment of facts selected by Hoover's editors for those following the IPO market, including the best- and worst-performing IPOs and the biggest one-day jumps and drops in the first day of trading. Hoover's also produces a weekly IPO Update newsletter, accessible via IPO Central (http://www.ipocentral.com/ ).

About Hoover's, Inc. - The Business Information Authority(sm)

Hoover's, a D&B company, gives its customers a competitive edge with insightful information about industries, companies, and key decision makers. Hoover's provides this authoritative, updated information for sales, marketing, business development, and other professionals who need intelligence on U.S. and global companies, industries, and the people who shape them. This information, along with powerful tools to search, sort, download and integrate the content, is available through Hoover's Online (http://www.hoovers.com/ ) the company's premier online service. Hoover's business information is also available through corporate intranets and distribution agreements with licensees, as well as via print from Hoover's Business Press. Hoover's is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

Contact: Lisa Glass
Public Relations
Hoover's, Inc.
512 / 374-4662
lglass@hoovers.com


Source: Hoover's, Inc.

CONTACT: Lisa Glass, Public Relations of Hoover's, Inc.,
+1-512-374-4662, or lglass@hoovers.com

Web site: http://www.hoovers.com/
http://www.hoovers.com/ipo/scorecard
http://www.ipocentral.com/


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