July 29, 2011 7:27 PM

IPO Roundup: Dunkin' Brands Gets Fat on Sugar-Coated Shares

Posted by Hannah D'Apice

Correction: 8/1/2011, 2:35 p.m. EDT—In the original version of this article, Jefferies & Co. was incorrectly spelled, as was the name of Latham & Watkins partner Marc Jaffe. We regret the errors.

The big news on the IPO front this week, of course, was the better-than-expected debut of Dunkin’ Brands, the Canton, Mass.–based operator of the Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins chains.

Dunkin' shares were offered at $19 apiece, exceeding the initial $16–18 per-share goal envisioned by underwriters J.P. Morgan, Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley, BofA Merrill Lynch, and Goldman, Sachs. When trading began Wednesday, shares were selling at nearly $25 each and closed the day around $28. The company raised more than $422.75 million dollars via the offering.

As The Am Law Daily has previously reported, Ropes & Gray and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett served as legal counsel on the offering, with Ropes & Gray partner Craig Marcus acting as lead counsel to Dunkin’ Brands. Ropes counseled two of Dunkin's Boston-based private equity owners, Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners, when they acquired the company' for $2.4 billion in 2006. 

Simpson Thacher partner D. Rhett Brandon advised the five underwriters on the offering.

Dunkin’s general counsel is Richard Emmett. Dunkin' indicated in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that legal fees and expenses related to the IPO would be $2.5 million.

In other recent IPO news...

C&J Energy Services, Inc: Oil and gas well service specialist C&J Energy Services raised $335 million in an initial public offering of 115 million shares that debuted at $29 apiece on July 18. The offering topped analysts' expected high-end price of $28 per share.

Vinson & Elkins partner Jeffery Malonson advised Houston-based C&J Energy on the listing. Theodore Moore is the company's general counsel.

The underwriters on the offering, led by Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Citibank, were advised by a Baker Botts team. C&J Energy estimates legal fees related to the public listing at $20,000, according to documents filed with the SEC.

Chef’s Warehouse Holdings, LLC: Chef's Warehouse Holdings came to market with a $135 million IPO Wednesday, selling 9 million shares at $15 apiece, within analysts' expected price range of $14–$16. The company—which distributes specialty foods to restaurants, country clubs, hotels, caterers, culinary schools, and specialty food stores—had initially expected to sell only 8 million shares, according to Reuters.

Acting as counsel to Chef's Warehouse on the offering are F. Mitchell Walker and D. Scott Holley, partners with Tennessee-based Bass, Berry & Sims. Latham & Watkins partners Marc Jaffe and Ian Schuman are advising underwriters led by Jefferies & Co., BMO Capital Markets, and Wells Fargo Securities. Chef’s Warehouse indicated in SEC filings that it expects to spend $850,000 in related legal fees and expenses.

Teavana Holdings, Inc.: Artisanal teamaker Teavana Holdings raised $121.4 million in an initial public offering of 7.1 million shares on July 26—well above the $100 million it anticipated taking in. Teavana shares opened at $17 per share, above the expected $13–$15 range.

Teavana tapped DLA Piper for legal counsel on the IPO, with partner Christopher Paci taking the lead for the firm. Michael Schiavone of Shearman & Sterling advised lead underwriters Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, and Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Teavana expects to pay about $750,000 in legal fees in connection with the offering, according to SEC records.

Wesco Aircraft Holdings, Inc.: The Carlyle Group–owned Wesco Aircraft Holdings, one describes itself as one of the largest logistics and supply chain companies serving the aerospace industry, announced this week that it had raised a total of $315 million in a public offering Wednesday, with shares selling at $15 apiece.

Latham & Watkins partners Rachel Sheridan and Jason Licht are counsel to Wesco on the IPO. The company’s general counsel is John Holland.

Lead underwriters for the offering are Barclays Capital and Morgan Stanley, advised by Davis Polk & Wardwell partner Michael Kaplan.

According to SEC filings, Wesco expects legal fees and related expenses to fetch up to $2.2 million.

WageWorks, Inc.: WageWorks plans to sell 5.7 million shares at an anticipated price of $12–$14 per share to raise up to $81 million in an initial public offering next week, according to an SEC filing. The San Mateo, California–based company advises businesses in managing their flexible spending plans for health and dependent care.

Counsel to WageWorks is a team from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati led by partners David Segre, Mark Baudler, and Todd Carpenter. The company’s general counsel is Kimberly Jackson.

Underwriters led by Credit Suisse and William Blair & Co. are being advised by partners Christopher Kaufman and Tad Freese of Latham & Watkins.

WageWorks expects IPO–related legal fees and expenses to reach $1.5 million, SEC records show.

Horizon Pharma, Inc.: Illinois–based Horizon Pharma raised approximately $50 million in a public offering Thursday, with its shares selling at $9 apiece, below the $10–$12 price range originally anticipated by underwriters.

Horizon was advised by Cooley partners Lynda Chandler, Barbara Borden, and Sean Clayton.

Underwriters Stifel Nicolaus Weisel, Cowen and Co., and JMP Securities were advised by a team from Latham & Watkins led by partners Cheston Larson, Divakar Gupta, and Matthew Bush.

Horizon expects to pay nearly $1.5 million in related legal fees and expenses, according to its SEC filing.

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