Ultra Clean IPO debuts at lower price
Parade of IPO filings continues at frenetic pace
By Steve Gelsi, CBS.MarketWatch.com

Last Update: 2:43 PM ET March 25, 2004

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Chip making technology firm
Ultra Clean Holdings generated a seven percent premium
over its reduced offering price in its Nasdaq debut Thursday
 as the frenetic pace of IPO filings continues.

The IPO from the Menlow Park, Calif. maker of gear to control
gases used in semiconductor chip manufacturing opened at
$7.01 and closed at $7.49 on volume of 2.7 million shares.

So far in March, 44 companies have filed IPOs as the market
works its way out of a slump following the Nasdaq's all-time h
igh in March 2000.

That's the quickest filing pace since September 2000, according
to Dealogic, a New York-based IPO tracking firm.

While companies are brave enough to at least file their IPOs,
unaway success in the IPO market is far from guaranteed from picky investors.

Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT: news, chart, profile) was forced to
discount the price of its IPO to $7 per share, below its estimated
range of $10 to $12 per share, as the chip equipment specialist debuted its stock.

While Ultra Clean boasted a mature track record for a tech firm
as well as a positive bottom line, IPO analyst Francis Gaskins of IPOdesktop
noted that the company has relatively few customers and narrow profit margins.
Listen: IPO Hardball radio show.

Meanwhile, an expected IPO from Anadys Pharmaceuticals failed to price for
its planned debut on Thursday. It's the second time the IPO has been pulled
off the calendar in a sign that the money-losing drug research firm is finding few takers right now.

Balance sheet gains luster

Ultra Clean has seen its business pick up steam since filing its
IPO in January, as it raised its estimated total proceeds in the deal
from $86 million to nearly $100 million.

Its first IPO filing showed net loss of $574,000 for the first nine months
of 2003, but with fourth-quarter results added in, Ultra Clean posted
net income of $108,000 for the year, with revenue of $77.5 million.

Ultra Clean listed Celerity Group, Integrated Flow Systems, Matheson
Tri-Gas and Wolfe Engineering as competitors.

Founded in 1991 by Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi, the company
was acquired in November 2002 by Francisco Partners, a San Francisco-based
private equity partnership.

Clarence Granger, 54, serves as chief executive of Ultra Clean after first
joining the company under a lower-ranking title in 1996. He previously
worked for Seagate Technology, HMT Technology and others