194 initial public offerings have been priced so far this year and as of this Friday, Nov 25, 2005:

- 113 IPOs are currently trading above initial offering price;
- 77 are trading below the offering price;
- and 4 are trading at their offer price.

A total of 3 IPOs were priced and 4 companies filed to go public during the week of November 21st, 2005. There are no deals scheduled to be priced during the coming week.

IPO PERFORMANCE

Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (BKD: chart) priced 11.7 million shares at $18 per share on Monday, at the midpoint of an estimated range of $17 - $19 at filing. The deal is worth $211 million.

Goldman Sachs was the lead manager on the deal, and Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and UBS Investment Bank were acting as co-managers.

The Chicago-based company operates assisted-living and independent-living facilities for the elderly.

The last time Brookdale reported net income was in 2002. So far in the first nine months of 2005, the company has posted a loss of $26.3 million, compared with a loss of $3.32 million in the same period a year ago.

Brookdale Senior Living shares ended the week at $25.65 on the New York Stock Exchange, up 35% from its IPO price.

Tronox Inc. (TRX: chart) priced 17.5 million shares at $14 also on Monday, at the low end of a reduced price range of $14 - $16. The deal is worth $244.7 million.

Tronox cut its price forecast from an earlier range of $18.50 - $20.50 earlier on Monday.

Lehman Brothers and J.P. Morgan were the lead underwriters on the deal.

The Oklahoma City-based company, which makes the pigment titanium dioxide, is currently owned by Kerr-McGee Corp. (KMG: chart).

The company began to show a profit in 2005 after years of losses, posting $12.6 million in the first nine months of 2005, compared with a loss of $127.2 million in the same period a year ago.

Investors haven't been eager to buy offerings in the cyclical chemical industry lately, with two that debuted in August – Rockwood Holdings (ROC: chart) and CF Industries Holdings (CF: chart) – still trading below their IPO prices.

Tronox’s stock ended the week at $14.12 on the NYSE, 0.9% above its offer price.

Energy exploration company Union Drilling Inc. (UDRL: chart) priced 8.8 million shares at $14 per share on Monday, below an estimated filing range of $16 - $18. The deal is worth $123.2 million.

The company is offering half the shares, with the rest coming from selling shareholders.

J.P. Morgan and Jefferies were the lead underwriters on the deal.

Union Drilling specializes in unconventional gas formations in the United States.

Energy-related IPOs had been sure bets earlier this year as oil and gas prices were higher, but recent lowering in commodities prices is slowing IPO demand.