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Grocery chain Albertsons is set to price its offering at $20 per share or less, according to CNBC, below the $23 to $26 range Wall Street was expecting Wednesday night.
The news that competitor Walmart had slashed its outlook came at the worst possible time for the company.
First Data, the payment processing company backed by private equity firm KKR, is also expected to price below its range, according to CNBC.
First Data had aimed for a share price range between $18 and $20 per share, but is likely to price at $16, according to CNBC.
BREAKING: Albertsons IPO likely to price at $20 or less as bidders concerned about $WMT news; First Data likely to price at $16, below range
- CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) October 14, 2015It's bad news for the individual companies, if true, and bad news for Wall Street too, which was looking to the IPOs as a bellwether for offerings in a year where numbers slumped compared to the heady 2014 IPO market.
The IPO market could use a boost right about now. Proceeds raised in US IPOs are down more than 44% from last year, and the number of deals is down by about 20%, according to Renaissance Capital, which analyzes initial public offerings.