Northwest Companies Debut This Week On Nasdaq -- Redhook Stock Price Soars At Outset

Shares in Seattle's Redhook Ale Brewing Inc. shot up by more than 50 percent in the first day of trading today, a sign that investors share the nation's growing thirst for specialty beers.

Redhook offered 1.9 million shares at an initial price of $17 a share. It stayed at $26 much of the day, hitting $27 in late trading on volume of 3.3 million shares.

Demand for the new issue had been high, an indication the price would rise above $17, said Tricia Reebs, portfolio manager for Seafirst Investment Counselors.

Redhook also will sell an additional 618,883 shares at $17 to Anheuser-Busch Inc., a principal shareholder that helps distribute Redhook products. The nation's largest beermaker will buy its shares under rights that allow it to maintain a 25 percent stake in Redhook.

When Redhook filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June, it estimated shares would sell between $13 and $15 and net the company $33 million.

The increase of the initial price to $17, coupled with the sale of shares to Anheuser-Busch, should elevate the Redhook take to nearly $40 million.

Specialty brewers represent only a 2 percent share of the total U.S. beer market. But their market share is growing rapidly - about 40 percent a year - while growth in the industry as a whole is flat. Analysts predict the specialty market may exceed the 6 percent share now held by imported beers.

With its six styles of beer, including the flagship brand Redhook E.S.B., the 14-year-old Fremont-based company has become one of the largest small brewers in the United States. The alliance with Anheuser-Busch in 1994 expanded distribution of Redhook products from eight Western states to 19 nationwide.

Wider distribution and the opening of a brewery in Woodinville pushed Redhook sales up to $12.3 million for the six months ended June 30, compared with $6.7 million for the same period in 1994. Net profit for the first half of 1995 was $1.2 million, compared with $1.1 million a year earlier.

The Woodinville brewery opened last summer near the Chateau Ste. Michelle winery and has boosted the company's annual overall production capacity to about 245,000 barrels from 135,000 barrels last year. Part of the proceeds from the stock offering will go to repay debt on the brewery's construction, as well as finance a third brewery planned for in Portsmouth, N.H.

Redhook, trading on the Nasdaq national market under the symbol HOOK, said it may also use part of the offering's proceeds for future acquisitions.

Another company with Woodinville connections - Mackie Designs Inc. - is scheduled to go public tomorrow when it offers up 2.5 million common shares. Price of the stock, to be set late today, is expected to be between $10 and $12 a share, netting about $25 million.

Mackie says it plans to use the money for debt repayment, product development, capital expenditures and possible future acquisitions.

The 5-year-old company produces audio mixers and related products used to blend and enhance sound levels for recording and live presentations. Its products, considered mid-priced at between $400 and $5,000, are marketed as a high-quality alternative to expensive studio equipment and cheaper, mass-produced mixers.

Fueled by introduction of a new audio mixer, sales for the six months ended June 30 grew to $30.4 million, compared with $23.2 million a year earlier. Profit for the period was $6.4 million, compared with $5.6 million a year ago.

"They've been running a pretty nice, growing, profitable operation," said Forbes Tuttle, research director for IPO Value Monitor, a New York-based firm that serves institutional investors.

"Their desire to expand their international markets substantially offers a real opportunity for growth," Tuttle said , adding it could result in Mackie setting up overseas manufacturing operations. International business accounts for about one-third of the company's sales.

The company's stock will be traded on Nasdaq as MKIE.