BillyTheKid

Emdeon Prices IPO as Healthcare Reform Debate Rages

Emdeon was selected as Renaissance Capital's Featured IPO and provides some good insights on the company . . .

www.renaissancecapital...

Home Inns: Expect a Decline in Chinese Travel After 2010

Hey Zach, great advice. . . perhaps you'd like to comment on the 23% UP move in HMIN today . . .

Strong IPO Performance

A better barometer for IPO performance (and from the prospective of accessible returns for retail investors) is the FTSE Renaissance IPO Index, which measures performance from first day close . . . despite not capturing the day one "pop", the index is up 21% YTD and far outpacing all major equity indices.

www.renaissancecapital...

LogMeIn IPO: Where Will the Money Go?

Renaissance Capital's IPO Home posted a nice write up on its web site on LogMeIn as its "featured" IPO. It highlights some good pros/cons.
www.renaissancecapital...

Rosetta Stone to Be First VC-Based IPO in Six Months

Rosetta is not VC-backed. It was an established business that was bought out in 2006 by "private equity" firms, who basically injected the company with growth capital to get it where it is today. Its lead investor, ABS Capital Partners, is a self-described later-stage growth investor. VC-backed companies, in contrast, are typically companies that secure initial funding to get their business off the ground (i.e. VCs make early stage investments).

Rapid Future Growth Should Propel Lumber Liquidators

Clearly the insiders do not agree with your analysis . . . they have been dumping shares over the last few months including over the last few weeks

RiskMetrics Carries Its Own Risk

Zach,
I'm not sure how long you have been following RMG, but I think your point about minimal growth in its 3Q is a bit misguided. ISS was purchased in early 2007 so the reported y/y growth in 3Q includes that business. The CFRA business was acquired in mid-3Q07, but it is comparatively much smaller and would not move the needle that much. Further, the ISS business is actually the one acting as a drag on growth -- the company's core "RiskMetrics" unit has been the key driver of growth over the last several quarters and that is ALL organic. That unit grew 32% in the latest quarter -- far ahead of what your analysis implies.

To be fair, I agree that its customer base is a concern under this environment but I believe your analysis is pretty well understood by most institutional investors. It is true that a mass exodus of customers (either through consolidation and/or shutting down) would create problems for the company, but there customer base is well-diversified and many of its customers are further embracing its products in order to keep better tabs on their risk exposure. Further, many of RMG's customers' customers (i.e. pension funds, fund of funds) actually require them to purchase these products or else they will move their money elsewhere.

In the current environment, nothing is a sure thing, but this is a solid franchise that benefits from substantial visibility and is generating significant free cash flow. The key risk for the company is really the growth rate, not the sustainability of its franchise. In fact, this business could actually benefit if new regulations are pushed through in light of the financial crisis.

Digging Deeper Into Limelight's Earnings Call

Dan, I have to agree with Roger -- that sentence doesn't seem to make sense. Can you just clarify that statement? Are you trying to say it is simply building out to support new organic business or taking share from competitors/in-house or both? If you read it carefully, the "but" statement is what is confusing . . .