aa-include-background-gaskins.htm Francis
Gaskins
... the Internet's most Experienced Interviewer
Francis Gaskins, a seasoned financial analyst, is noted as the Internet's most
experienced, analytical web cast producer and interviewer. Often quoted, his scope
of influence includes editor (IPOdesktop), Talk Radio, Internet TV, and Video
Productions, plus numerous articles and opinions published in the nation's financial
media.
IPO Desktop Editor
• The leading provider of independent IPO research,
for professional money managers and individual investors.
• One of 'Forbes Best IPO Sites'.
• Widely quoted by the IPO media including the Wall Street Journal,
Dow Jones Business News, Dow Jones Newswires, Reuters, USA Today, TheStreet.com,
CBS MarketWatch.
Internet Radio
• Co-host for the weekly IPO Hardball! Internet radio show, also broadcast
from CBS Marketwatch.
• Business & financial talk show host at WorldTalkRadio.
Education & Experience
• Harvard University Master of Business Administration (Finance).
• Princeton University A.B. (Economics).
Seasoned team leader: extensive experience in sales, marketing, pre-IPO financial analysis and valuations, fund raising, forecasting and budgeting, strategic modeling, general ledger and preparation of financial statements, market research.
Intenet Television
• Packages virtual road shows.
What clients say...
• "Bravo - you do a wonderful job, btw - this went extremely well."
• "Great interview!"
• "Our distributor in the UK wants to save the interview on his
laptop."
• "Thank you very much, Francis. I really enjoy working with you."
• "We really appreciate the work you put into making these interviews
very informative and worthwhile."
• "I love the interview. This (concise, summary) information is
hardly ever made known to the public."
• "It's a privilege working with a professional and empathetic
gentleman like you. I enjoy the experience and greatly appreciate your help. All
the best!"
• "The interview is timely and well done. Kudos!"
Other
• Board level positions included software, professional services and
industry associations, including a 200-member group of high technology CEOs.
• Finished four marathons and numerous 10ks.
• Plays in the first violin section of the Santa Monica Symphony. Violin Picture
Media Quotes
aa-module-media-quotes.htm
KKR files for a $2bb IPO
– BloombergTV, March 12
"By any standard metric, Sensata
is way overpriced. If you believe that the economy is recovering, there
are many other companies out there that have better income visibility
and better balance sheets. March
8 WSJ
“Potential investors should be concerned about the (Baltic Trading Limited & Crude Carriers) companies' focus on
the spot market, which can vary greatly depending on global
demand. People are thinking that the economy will show a little
bit of growth, but that doesn't give them a whole lot of security to
base their business on, the winds can swing against them right away.
"It's hard to find growth opportunities when the global economy has
flat lined. It's hard to get excited when nothing's happening." March
5 LA Times
“If Sensata prices at the
midpoint of its expected range, at $19 per share, it will have a
valuation dramatically higher than some of its competitors.” March 5
Reuters
"The Anthera Pharma IPO is
confirmation that there is an IPO market, but companies need to be
aware of investor climate and price accordingly." March
1
"Chesapeake Mid-stream is a high profile, high marque
company with cash to
distribute, if anyone does their homework they realize the risk is for
smaller companies without a big partner backing them. In their
business, bigger is better. They have a powerful parent, good growth
opportunities and visible cash flow." Feb 26
"Anthera
Pharmaceuticals, especially with no revenue or regulatory
approval, needs a more frothy market to make it." Feb
25 LA Times
"Clothing company Express was
a
leveraged buyout at the top of the market. They have a lot of
debt and they're in a low gross margin business." Feb 19
"Graham Packaging's enterprise
value to earnings ratio was about 39, higher than competitors Ball Corp
(BLL.N) and Silgan Holdings Inc (SLGN.O), which are about 22 and 33,
respectively." Feb 12
Reuters
"(IPO) Executives continue to
think their companies are worth more than
investors do." Feb
11 USA TODAY
“Investors were hesitant about Terreno
Realty because it lacks an operating history” Feb
10
"People are saying it's a lousy market, but there's a huge quantity of
deals. The problem is that while investment banks are selling a
story to these companies, it's the individual investors who make up
their own minds. If these deals were just priced reasonably, it would
be a different situation." Feb
8 Washington Post
"QuinStreet has an established
business and may do well. The longer-term risk is how easy it is for ad
agencies and others to do what they doing. The problem they're
having with DeVry may be the canary in the coal mine." Feb
8 Wall Street Journal
Tesla battery-powered electric
'ferrari' IPO: "If they get the funding they need, from the IPO or
other sources, then I believe they might for a while show some decent
sales, but if the niche becomes big enough then the elephants will step
in, grow the market themselves and take the lion's share" Feb
5 Globe & Mail
QuinStreet: "the company's
growth is attracting some unwanted
attention." Feb
3 Investors.com
"Ironwood has potential as a
business, but the company is not being
'realistic'with its IPO price." Jan
29 Business Week
"IFM
Inv (CTC, Century 21 China) is branded and has
visibility,
they're a player in the market.
But people are afraid their income statement will be hurt" by the
tightening of China's monetary policy Jan 28 Reuters
"I think Friendfinder is
a case of going public or going broke. They're just too leveraged to
stay afloat." Jan
26 Business Week
“The Friendfinder IPO is hot,
but not in the IPO sense. The adult
subscriber base is decreasing. Recently, sales have been flat and the
company has had difficulty servicing its heavy debt load.” Jan 25
ABC news
“IFM's valuation is roughly in
line with much larger publicly traded
Chinese real estate services company E-House China Holdings Ltd, (EJ.N)” Jan 24
Reuters
“Telegent Systems Inc., a
Sunnyvale, California-based chipmaker for
mobile-TV devices, may be valued as high as $1.5 billion in a
future IPO” Bloomberg
"Investors shouldn't assume the busy week means the IPOs are good
ones. Only Symetra,
backed by Berkshire, is attractive for
investors. The true measures of the IPO market's health will come
later." Jan
22, USA TODAY
Buffett Boosts
Flowers, Berkowitz Pricing Symetra
IPO Jan 21
Bloomberg
"Symetra now has an estimated
price-to-book value of 0.85, 43%
less than the 1.5 multiple it would have based on the midpoint of the
2007 offering price." Warren Buffett to retain shares
“The fact that he (Buffett) is holding his stock is a definite plus, It
gives institutional investors a feeling of security.” Business
Week
Francis
Gaskins
Media Quotes
TV/Video Interviews