| NEW YORK (AFX) - Focus Media Holdings rang up a double-digit percentage gain over its already lofty price as the operator of a network of flat-panel display screens used for advertising in China drew strong interest from Wall Street.
Focus Media's IPO opened at US$19 a share, up from its US$17 a share offer price. The stock climbed to US$19.96 for a gain of 17 percent over its IPO price.
In a sign of strength, the IPO was priced above its US$14-16 range, as investors lined up behind the first Chinese firm to list shares in the US since China Techfaith Wireless made its debut on May 5.
Focus Media raised about US$170M by offering 10.1M shares with underwriters Goldman Sachs and CSFB. The Shanghai-based firm's American depositary receipts will trade on Nasdaq.
'Focus Media is leading the charge for a new advertising model in China and so far the results look promising,' Renaissance Capital said in its IPO of the week column.
With China already on Wall Street's radar screen over CNOOC Ltd's Unocal bid, currency issues and the nation's overall impact on the US economy, IPOs are starting to re-emerge as well.
Along these lines, China-language search engine Baidu.com filed an US$80M IPO with underwriters Goldman Sachs (Asia) LLC, CS First Boston and Piper Jaffray & Co. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under the 'BIDU.'
Meanwhile Focus Media's chief rival, Target Media, is planning a US IPO, perhaps as early as later this year, according to reports.
Earlier this week, the Shanghai-based company said it received a US$20M investment from Carlyle Group, the high-powered private equity firm.
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