<p> Due to The Fresh Market’s underperforming quarterly results, Sprouts Farmers Market has decided to delay its offering of stocks on Thursday. Apollo Global Management, along with a slate of other insiders including Sprouts co-founder Shon Boney, had initially filed to sell up to 25.9 million shares in the specialty grocer, a stake valued at $975 million as of Sprouts’ recent stock price, according to Wall Street Journal.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> In regards to the delay, Dan Miller-Smith, chief executive of Syndicate Pro LLC, an IPO research firm, says, “It’s not incredibly uncommon, but with a deal this size, it doesn’t look good.” Nevertheless, Miller-Smith suggests that the deal is likely to come together by Monday this week.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Meanwhile, Apollo, which will remain the largest holder after the offering, has incentive to see that the deal rewards investors. The Wall Street Journal reports that mutual-fund and hedge-fund managers see follow-on offerings as a quick way to pick up sizeable stakes in stocks they like, usually at a discount to where the shares have traded recently. If an offering is followed by a selloff in the shares, it could potentially complicate future stock-sale efforts.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Jay Ritter, a University of Florida professor who tracks equity capital markets activity, wonders if Sprouts is taking market share away from The Fresh Market.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> What will the outcome be for Sprouts? Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow to find out.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2013/11/22/sprouts-stock-offering-delay-is-rare-now-expected-next-week/?KEYWORDS=sprouts" target="_new"> Sprouts Stock Offering Delay </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
