Golfsmith International Holdings, Inc. debuted on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol “GOLF” on Thursday at a price of $11.50 per share, falling short of the companys expectations for a range of $14 to $16 announced earlier in the week. The retailer should see about $61.2 million in net proceeds from the the sale of six million shares that netted a total of $69 million, quite a bit short of the expected $90 million pay day at the expected range mid-point.
This is the first disappointment in the IPO market after a solid run of offerings by sporting goods brands and retailers. Perhaps Wall Street is a bit nervouse about the proliferation of retail in the golf specialty market, which will now get a key competitor with the arrival of Dicks Sporting Goods into the business.
GOLF shares closed at $10.98 on Friday, down 4.7% from Thursdays IPO price.