Idle Ramblings on IPOs

One of the reasons I enjoy investing is because it keeps me current in what is going on in the world, regardless of whether I actually invest all that much, or how well I do.

It also helps me put things in perspective.

I see today that Tesla (electric cars) will go public:

It plans to raise about $167 million.

I would not know what to make of that number had I not followed the Bakken so closely. The Bakken has taught me much more about investing than just about the oil industry in North Dakota. (The Bakken has also taught me geology, the reality of wind/solar energy, energy politics, and how to set up a blog. It also taught me how much time and energy is required to host a blog.)

Yesterday, as you all know, one of the smallest oil companies working in the Bakken, Oasis Petroleum, went public. Its IPO raised almost $600 million:

I did not invest in Oasis; I'm too heavily invested in oil to buy any more energy companies but I had watched this since the announcement in March when I was first alerted me to it. (Slawson, on the other hand, would be hard to resist.)

Anyway, idle chatter, but it is interesting to see Tesla go public and how much they value the company. Toyota will take a 5% stake.