DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

 

We had a class assignment that asked to find one global company that recently went public. In a 500 word posting, I had to give a short description about the business, its IPO process, reasons as to why it went public and associated implications.  Here is my submissions.




 

One thing that has always bothered me was seeing nurses and healthcare providers yelling to each other from room to room.  I remember saying to a nurse that they needed walkie talkies to better communicate with each other.  Vocera has solved this dilemma by joining the mobile communication family.

 

 

Vocera is a leading provider of mobile communication solutions for hospital staff and mobile workers across diverse enterprise organizations.[1]  Vocera equipment is used in industries where people are very mobile.  These industries may include libraries, hospitals, hotels, nursing homes, etc.

 

 

You now have staff that can communicate with each other in an instance.  They wear a little device that attaches to their clothing. No more screaming down the hall or calling over a PA system that gives limited information.  The Vocera system has taken into account concerns people may have regarding privacy issues.

 

 

Since we are dealing with preparing an Initial Public Offering (IPO) for our company, I needed to know a little more about the process.  I went to How Stuff Works website[2] and learned that the process starts with a company submitting an S-1 document that describes what the company does and why they do it.  This document will be approved or denied by the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Once they approve the document, it is on to the shareholders.

 

 

Tom Taulli, a Forbes online writer spoke with Vocera’s CEO Bob Zollars about the IPO process.  Mr. Zollars said “It was great. The company got started 12 years ago, so the IPO is a big achievement.  On the road show, we met with many smart people and got some great ideas. We’ll be taking these ideas back to headquarters. As for the questions, one important one was about the market opportunity. The size is about $6 billion, of which $3 billion is in the U.S. and $3 billion in global markets.”[3]

 

 

According to Vocera’s website, “Vocera successfully completed its initial public offering on March 28, 2012. The initial public offering price is $16.00. We priced on March 27, 2012. We are closing on April 2, 2012. The offering was underwritten by J.P. Morgan, Piper Jaffray, Baird, William Blair & Company, Wells Fargo Securities and Leerink Swann.”[4]

 

 

Vocera’s intent is to use the proceeds from going public for general corporate purposes, an increase in working capital and possible investments.

 

 

When I looked at the NASDAQ’s website on 5/2/13 it stated that “the financials of Vocera show that the company has seen an increase in revenue for the past four years, but due to an increase in expense prices and cost of goods the company's net income and earnings per share show no stable growth.”[5]

 

 

The chart below will give you an idea of Vocera’s growth from 2008 – 2011.

[6]

 

 

Even though Vocera’s financials does not look good for the first quarter of 2013, Mr. Zollar says “While our field sales teams are quite optimistic, they've noticed that increased pressure on hospital budgets is delaying some of our larger expansion deals and increasing scrutiny on any spending in these facilities.”[7]

 

Despite Vocera’s financial woes the first quarter of 2013, I believe they will bounce back once hospitals finances are a bit more stable.

 

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.