Falling out of Orbitz

There's been lots of dealmaking with online travel portal, Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: OWW). Back in 2003, the company went public, and then a year later sold out to Cendant. Cendant then meshed its online travel properties into a new unit, called Travelport, which was then sold to the Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX).

And the dealmaking continued this week as Orbtiz raised a cool $510 million in an IPO. Unfortunately, investors were not impressed. The IPO was priced at $15, which was below its $16-$18 range. The stock then fell 3.3% on its first day of trading.

But the IPO proceeds won't go to Orbtiz. Rather, the cash will flow back to the parent company, Travelport (in a special dividend). In other words, the IPO is really a cash-out -- not a way to help build Orbitz.

True, Orbitz has some nice brands – such as CheapTickets.com and eBookers.com. But the fact is that the online travel space is highly competitive, with players like Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) and Priceline.com Inc. (NASDAQ: PCLN).

Another big issue: the company has never posted net income. So, I can understand why Wall Street has some concerns.

Also check out some of the other IPOs of the past week.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

See also:
Jonathan Berr: The appeal of Expedia and Orbitz eludes me
Tom Taulli: Blackstone wants payback with Orbitz IPO