Gogo's IPO takes off but finds early turbulence

The June 21 initial public offering of shares by in-flight Wi-Fi and entertainment services provider Gogo was marred when the shares' value slid as much as 9 percent in their debut on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. Underwriters Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and UBS priced the offering at $17, the top end of its planned $15-$17 range, which valued Gogo at about $1.5 billion, said Reuters. The IPO launched during rough market conditions, with U.S. stocks last week suffering their worst two-day decline since November 2011. But some observers are also concerned that Gogo, which lost money last year, may struggle in the face of increased competition from the likes of ViaSat, Row44, Panasonic Avionics and Thales. "If they can't make money with an 81 percent market share then, with increasing competition, when can they make money?" asked IPODesktop.com's Francis Gask, who was quoted by Reuters. Gogo first filed to go public in 2011 and finally launched the IPO due to international expansion plans. For more, see this Reuters article