CVR Refining (CVRR) started trading on the NYSE on 17 Jan 2013

• CVR Refining is 2013's first IPO to notch first-day gains
• Refinery owner's units promise yield of nearly 19%
• MLP IPOs have been popular among investors looking for dividends

The Sugar Land, Texas, company is the second of three expected IPOs from master-limited partnerships in the energy sector this week. The company said it plans to pay $4.72 a common unit, or an annual yield of nearly 19% based on the offer price. That yield towers over the average of about 6.5% for the Alerian MLP Index, the industry benchmark that tracks the performance of 50 prominent MLPs.

The company owns petroleum-refining assets, including two refineries--one in Coffeyville, Kan., and another in Wynnewood, Okla. It also owns roughly 350 miles of pipeline. The company said in a prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission the close proximity of its two refineries to the Cushing, Okla., crude-storage hub helps its refineries operate with low costs and high profit margins.

It generated $6.5 billion in sales in the first nine months of 2012, up 76% from the year-earlier period. Net income rose to $541 million, up 34% from $403 million.

Demand has been strong for issuers of MLPs, which typically offer higher yields than blue-chip stocks. Low interest rates have prompted investors to search for new streams of income. Fourteen MLP issuers stepped into the market last year, with 13 of those in a row rising in their trading debuts.

But earlier this week, USA Compression Partners LP (USAC) became the first MLP since May to drop on its first day. Friday, SunCoke Energy Partners LP is on the docket to raise as much as $284 million. Its common units are set to hit the NYSE under the symbol SXCP.

CVR Refining is an offshoot of independent refiner CVR Energy Inc. (CVI), which is set to own roughly 84% of CVR Refining's units after the offering. Investor Carl Icahn took control of CVR Energy last year, and his Icahn Enterprises LP (IEP), run by Mr. Icahn, said it would buy four million CVR Refining units at the offer price.

CVR Refining plans to use the proceeds raised in the offering to pay down debt and bankroll maintenance and other expenses.

Credit Suisse Group AG (CS, CSGN.VX) and Citigroup Inc. (C) were CVR Refining's lead underwriters.

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The New Year is out of the blocks and off to a strong start for the Master Limited Partnership (MLP) space with fourth quarter distribution announcements coming in slightly ahead of my expectations and with three MLP IPOs being completed in January: USA Compression Partners, L.P. (USAC), CVR Refining, L.P. (CVRR) and SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. (SXCP).

Norwegian Cruise Line IPO soars 31%

Norwegian Cruise Line, the No. 3 cruise ship operator in North America, priced shares of its initial public offering late Thursday at $19 a share, and when it opened Friday, the stock soared to over $25.

The shares began trading at 10 a.m. ET, and quickly jumped to nearly $26 a share before losing a bit of steam.

But only a bit: Shares still closed up 31% for the day by the end of the regular trading session, at $24.89.

Late Thursday, shares of the Miami-based operator of 11 cruise ships were priced at $19 a share, signaling a strong reception from investors. The pricing was well above the expected range of $16 and $18 a share.

The deal raises $447 million for the company, since it sold 23.5 million shares. It will trade under the ticker "NCLH" on the Nasdaq electronic exchange.

The stock's sharp rise reflects investors' hopes that the company may be a source of growth. Since Norwegian is smaller than Carnival, which has 99 ships, and Royal Caribbean with 39, investors think incremental growth prospects are better at Norwegian.

Investors are currently paying a price-to-revenue valuation of 2.3 for Norwegian, which is even higher than the 2.0 price-to-revenue paid on market leader Carnival. That's a bit surprising since Norwegian has $2.7 billion in long-term debt, a heavy relative load for its size compared with the $7.2 billion carried by Carnival.

But despite the strong performance of Norwegian, it's important to note that the company still sports a market value of $5.3 billion, which is nowhere near the $30.1 billion value of Carnival and $7.9 billion value of Royal Caribbean.

AbbVie (ABBV) began trading on the NYSE on Thur 2 Jan 2013

AbbVie (ABBV) is a spin-off of Abbott Laboratories (ABT). The separation was effective January 1, 2013, and AbbVie was officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ABBV) on January 2, 2013.

The "new" Abbott Laboratories will specialize in diversified products including medical devices, diagnostic equipment and nutrition products, while AbbVie will operate as a research-based pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Avis (CAR) to Buy Zipcar for $500 Million

Car-sharing service Zipcar (ZIP) changed the car-rental business, but its hourly-rentals to young and more urban customers turned out to be a lousy business.

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The company signed up more than 760,000 members since its founding in 2000 but struggled to post a profit. On Wednesday, it agreed to sell itself to Avis Budget Group Inc. CAR +4.77% for $12.25 a share, well above its recent price but below its $18 IPO.

Avis's bid is a 49% premium to the car-sharing-network operator's Monday close but a 32% discount to Zipcar's initial public offering price. Zipcar went public in April 2011 and shot as high as $31.50 in its debut. But the shares have never closed above $30, and have languished below $10 since Zipcar reported its second-quarter results last August.

The deal would vault Avis ahead of its peers in addressing the niche hourly rental market, which has grown to nearly a $400 million business domestically, Avis said.

"As some of you may recall, I've been somewhat dismissive of car sharing in the past," Avis Chief Executive Ron Nelson told analysts during a conference call. "But what I've come to realize is that car sharing, particularly on the scale that Zipcar has achieved and will achieve, is complementary to our traditional business."

Zipcar shares soared 49% to $12.24 in recent trading, while Avis was up 5.6% to $20.92.

Zipcar has said the car-sharing market could reach $10 billion in North America, Europe and Asia. Its ability to recruit members in the U.S. and Europe led closely held Enterprise Holdings Inc. and Hertz Global Holdings Inc. HTZ +2.67% to offer competing car-sharing services.

A year ago, the company acquired a majority stake in Catalunya Carsharing SA, known as Avancar, which operates a fleet of vehicles in Barcelona and Sant Cugat del Valles. Earlier it entered the London market with an acquisition of Streetcar, that city's largest car club.

Zipcar sales have notched double-digit percentage gains in each quarter since the company went public in 2011, as membership and usage increase and the company entered new markets in the U.S. and abroad.

But sales growth has slowed and profitability has been a greater challenge for Zipcar which posted losses each year since it was founded. That trend was poised to end in 2012, when a strong third-quarter report in November led Zipcar to indicate it was on track to record a full year of profitability.

When Zipcar went public, its biggest investors included former AOL Inc. AOL +2.36% chief Steve Case's investment firm, Revolution Partners, which owned about 20% of Zipcar as of August. Mr. Case serves on Zipcar's board.

The Zipcar bid is Avis's largest deal since it spent roughly $1 billion in October 2011 to take full control of Avis Europe. Avis also had sought to acquire Dollar Thrifty, though it later backed away from an extended bidding war with Hertz, which closed on its acquisition of Dollar Thrifty late last year.

Mr. Nelson said Avis could help Zipcar achieve better profitability by leveraging Avis's fleet and infrastructure, as well as offer more vehicles during peak rental periods.

Avis expects the deal to lower the companies' combined costs by $50 million to $70 million a year. Mr. Nelson said the synergies were tied to three components: lower fleet costs, better fleet utilization and increased revenue by targeting corporate clients, one-way rentals and airport bookings.

Mr. Nelson said Zipcar utilization is low during the weekdays but spikes during the weekends, resulting in excess fleet during the week that often isn't used. Avis, meanwhile, has utilization that peaks during the midweek commercial travel period and has excess capacity on the weekends.

The deal would allow Avis to reduce the amount of cars at Zipcar locations during the week, but also to use Avis's excess weekend inventory to meet Zipcar's strong weekend demand.

Avis expects Zipcar to increase its adjusted earnings in the second year after the deal closes, which is targeted for the spring. Avis also backed its 2012 guidance.

Zipcar board has unanimously backed the deal, and shareholders representing about 32% of the shares outstanding have agreed to vote in its support.

The agreement prohibits Zipcar from seeking any other bids and has set the termination fee at $16.8 million.

Zipcar may provide information and hold talks with a third party that makes an unsolicited acquisition proposal. But Avis has three business days to adjust terms of its agreement if Zipcar's board determines another proposal constitutes a superior bid.