An IPO Rebound: After a Long Slump, Firms with Solid Track Records Are Finding Buyers for Their Stock

Beginning of article

Byline: Brad Stone

From April 2000 until very recently, a magnum of Perrier Jouet champagne sat in Patrick Lo's desk, awaiting the day that his Silicon Valley company, Netgear, would go public. He bought the bubbly when the firm, which makes PC-networking equipment for homes and small businesses, filed to sell stock to outside investors for the first time. Even if Netgear were barely profitable, it seemed like a can't-miss deal: after all, Wall Street was showering unconditional love on all things tech. But then the NASDAQ tanked, Wall Street's corruption scandals tainted the entire process of public offerings and Netgear had to shelve its IPO. It was three years before the market recovered sufficiently to allow Lo to try again. On July 31, Netgear raised a cool $98 million. …