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By Andrew Park Austin's IPO gold rush is spreading into new territory. Luminex Corp., a local biotechnology company, and Applied Science Fiction Inc., which creates applications used in photography, have filed for initial public offerings in the past week. Both are research-driven ventures that have spent little on marketing, gambling instead on development of unique and complex technologies. "I think it's just a sign that more and more of these research and development-oriented firms are doing their research in Austin," said Chris Engle, director of research at Angelou Economic Advisors Inc. in Austin. "I think that being some of the first companies from Austin that are in this area will help enhance their visibility." The filings bring to four the number of local companies on deck to sell stock to the public this year. The other two Austin companies planning IPOs are Silicon Laboratories Inc., a semiconductor company, and Netpliance Inc., which makes a computer-like device for accessing the Internet. Last year's record of nine Central Texas IPOs is expected to be smashed as companies try to tap into investor exuberance over technology stocks. Before selling stock, Luminex and Applied Science Fiction must gain approval for their IPOs from the Securities and Exchange Commission, present their companies to instititional investors and price their shares, which can take several months. Luminex, which has developed a patented system for rapidly testing for biochemicals, proteins or genes in a sample, would be Austin's only publicly-traded biotechnology company. The system, called LabMAP, can perform up to 100 tests -- called bioassays -- on a single drop of fluid. The tests can help identify new drugs, detect genetic variations and assist with diagnosis and treatment of disease. The demand for biological testing technologies and tools such as bioassays, biochips and sensor arrays is expected to grow as pharmaceutical companies apply new knowledge about the structure and function of human genes. Luminex counts pharmaceutical giants Glaxo Wellcome PLC and Smithkline Beecham Corp. among its customers. Luminex lost $8.4 million on revenues of $3.1 million in fiscal 1999. That compares with a loss of $5.6 million on revenues of $386,000 the year before. The company expects to raise as much as $100 million through its IPO, according to the filing. Applied Science Fiction owns a patented technology for improving and enhancing scanned photographs that it licenses to scanner and film lab manufacturers such as Nikon Inc. and Eastman Kodak Co. The company has also recently developed a method for directly digitizing film, which it thinks could become a substitute for traditional photo processing. It does not expect to generate revenue from sales of that technology until late next year. During fiscal 1999, Applied Science Fiction posted a net loss of $15.9 million on revenues of $4 million. The year before the company lost $7.5 million on revenues of $502,000. Applied Science Fiction hopes the offering will raise as much as $57.5 million.
You may contact Andrew Park at apark@statesman.com or 912-5933.
Companies at a glance
Luminex Corp What it does: Develops tools for performing biological tests Employees: 81 Estimated amount of offering: $100 million Underwriters Warburg Dillon Read Ticker symbol: LMNX | |||
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