“…EOn (EONC), which makes Linux-based
communications servers and software that manage voice, e-mail
and Internet communications, opened at $38.125, more than three
times the $12 a share offer price. Price estimates on the deal had
been between $10 and $12 a share.”
“While communications has been a big area in new-issues
investing, the ‘icing on the cake’ for eOn’s deal was its
association with Linux, the popular open-source operating system,
said John Fitzgibbon, IPO analyst for Redherring.com in New
York.”
“EOn, based in Memphis, is unusual among new issues in that
it does have a history of profitability. In its fiscal first
quarter ended Oct. 31, the company earned $335,000 on sales of
$14.3 million. In the prior year’s quarter, eOn reported net income
of $340,000 on revenue of $8.5 million.”