This Week's IPOs: Meruelo Maddux Properties and AeroVironment Inc.

This week's IPOs include: Meruelo Maddux Properties (MMPI), a California-based real estate management company and AeroVironment Inc, (AVAV) a company that produces unmanned aircraft for the U.S. military.

All quotations are from the companies' most recent S-1 filings with links provided for each company.

MERUELO MADDUX PROPERTIES (MMPI)

Business Overview (from prospectus)

We are a self-managed, full-service real estate company that develops, redevelops and owns commercial and residential properties located in downtown Los Angeles and other densely populated urban areas in California that are undergoing demographic or economic changes. Upon completion of this offering and our formation transactions, we will own, lease with rights to purchase and have rights to acquire interests in 34 development and redevelopment projects and 19 projects that have been developed, which we collectively refer to as our projects.

Offering: 40 million shares at $12-14 per share. The company plans to use the approximately $481.3 million in net proceeds primarily to pay off mortgage debt on its properties.

Lead Underwriters: Friedman Billings, UBS Investment Bank, KeyBanc Capital

Financial Highlights:

Rental income increased by $4.1 million, or 34.5%, to $16.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 compared to $12.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2005...Management fees increased by $32,000, or 14.8%, to $247,700 for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 compared to $215,700 for the nine months ended September 30, 2005...Operating expenses related to rental properties increased by $1.2 million, or 21.9%, to $6.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2006 compared to $5.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2005.

AEROVIRONMENT INC. (AVAV)

Business Overview (from prospectus)

We design, develop, produce and support a technologically-advanced portfolio of small unmanned aircraft systems that we supply primarily to organizations within the U.S. Department of Defense, and fast charge systems for electric industrial vehicle batteries that we supply to commercial customers. We derive the majority of our revenue from these two business areas, and we believe that both the small unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, and fast charge markets are in the early stages of development and have significant growth potential. Additionally, we believe that some of the innovative potential products in our research and development pipeline will emerge as new growth platforms in the future, creating market opportunities. The success we have achieved with our current products stems from our ability to invent and deliver advanced solutions, utilizing our proprietary technologies, that help our government and commercial customers operate more effectively and efficiently. Our core technological capabilities, developed through 35 years of innovation, include lightweight aerostructures and electric propulsion systems, efficient electric energy systems and storage, high-density energy packaging, miniaturization, controls integration and systems engineering optimization.

Offering: 6.7 million shares at $12-14 per share. The approximately $62.3 million in proceeds will be used as for general corporate purposes, including: product R&D, sales and marketing, acquisitions and other capital expenditures.

Lead Underwriters: Goldman Sachs, Jefferies

Financial Highlights:

Revenue for the six months ended October 28, 2006 was $76.7 million, as compared to $73.3 million for the six months ended October 29, 2005, representing an increase of $3.4 million, or 5%...Cost of sales for the six months ended October 28, 2006 was $47.0 million, as compared to $44.5 million for the six months ended October 29, 2005, representing an increase of $2.5 million, or 5%...Gross margin for the six months ended October 28, 2006 was $29.8 million, as compared to $28.8 million for the six months ended October 29, 2005, representing an increase of $1.0 million, or 3%.

Source: IPOHome.com