Hoover's IPO Scorecard Reveals Steady Pace Of New Offerings For Q1 2007

For Immediate Release

Number Of U.S. IPOs In First Quarter Matches Total From Same Quarter Last Year

AUSTIN Texas - April 19, 2007 - The number of U.S. initial public offerings (IPOs) and the amount raised stayed the same for Q1 2007 compared to the same quarter in 2006, as reported today by Hoover's IPO Scorecard (http://www.hoovers.com/global/ipoc/). Hoover's, Inc. (http://www.hoovers.com) is a D&B company that gives its customers a competitive edge with insightful information about industries, companies and key decision makers.

In Q1 2007, 44 companies went public on the major U.S. stock exchanges, raising $8.5 billion, compared to the same quarter in 2006 when 44 companies also went public, raising $8.5 billion. The first quarter of 2007 began in typical bell curve fashion, with eight IPOs in January, followed by 20 IPOs in February, wrapping up with 16 in March.

"The IPO market in the first quarter is historically slow out of the gates, but let's not forget that 44 IPOs during a quarter is nothing to sneeze at. It was just four years ago, in 2003, that we only saw five companies go public in Q1," said Tim Walker, industry editor for Hoover's. "When you consider how the IPO market has stabilized and 'come to its senses,' so to speak, in the last few years, it's actually doing very well."

Although the consumer/retail sector seems to have gone a bit quiet as far as IPOs go in Q1, the movie entertainment arena kept some of the spark going. National CineMedia, which sells movie theater advertising services, went public in February, raising $798 million and becoming the biggest IPO of the year so far. This momentum will continue to build, as both AMC Entertainment and Cinemark Holdings have also filed to go public, in efforts to raise $750 million and $400 million, respectively.

Findings from Hoover's IPO Scorecard for the first quarter 2007:

• Telecommunications companies gained favor among investors with three IPOs in Q1 - Opnext, Switch and Data Facilities, and BigBand Networks. In addition, another big offering is waiting in the wings; MetroPCS Communications filed its IPO in January, in an attempt to raise $1.1 billion.
• The Blackstone Group, a massive private equity firm that owns stakes in more than 40 companies, manages hedge funds and other funds, and provides merger, acquisition nad restructuring advice to corporate clients, filed to go public in March 2007 in a bid to raise $4 billion. This could end up being one of the biggest IPOs in the history of mankind.
• Best First-Day Gain:Fortress Investment Group LLC 68%
• Worst First-Day Drop:Xinhua Finance Media Limited -13%

Top Ten Best-Returning IPOs for Q1:

	Offer	Q1 Close	Return
FCStone Group, Inc.	$24.00	$37.32	56%
Fortress Investment Group LLC	$18.50	$28.68	55%
BigBand Networks, Inc.	$13.00	$18.01	39%
Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	$7.00	$9.71	39%
Targa Resources Partners LP	$21.00	$28.80	37%
AeroVironment, Inc.	$17.00	$22.86	34%
Aruba Networks, Inc.	$11.00	$14.67	33%
National CineMedia, Inc.	$21.00	$26.70	27%
Accuray Incorporated	$18.00	$22.24	24%
Capital Product Partners L.P.	$21.50	$26.75	24%

Hoover's provides continuously updated information about thousands of private and public companies worldwide and analyzes the IPO market daily to produce the quarterly IPO Scorecard, a regular wrap-up of IPO activity released on the IPO Central section of Hoover's. Each IPO Scorecard includes an assortment of facts selected by Hoover's editors for those following the IPO market, including the best- and worst-performing IPOs, the biggest one-day jumps and drops in the first day of trading, and a breakdown of IPOs by industry sector.

About Hoover's, Inc.

Hoover's, a D&B company, gives its customers a competitive edge with insightful information about industries, companies, and key decision makers. Hoover's provides this up-to-date information for sales, marketing, business development, and other professionals who need intelligence on U.S. and global companies, industries, and the people who lead them. This information, along with powerful tools to search, sort, download and integrate the content, is available through Hoover's (http://www.hoovers.com), the company's premier online service. Hoover's business information is also available through corporate intranets and distribution agreements with licensees, as well as via Hoover's books. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

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