RealD Preps for First 3D-centric IPO; Analyst Reserved on 3D Box Office Ahead

By Deborah D. McAdams

NEW YORK: RealD, the stereoscopic 3D projection specialist, is expected to go public later today in a bid to raise $151 million at $14 a share. The Beverly Hills, Calif., company’s 3D technology dominates in theaters–it’s in more than 1,100 out of the nation’s 4,500 screens. RealD’s Buddy Holly polarized glasses are a staple at 3D-capable cinemas, but those specs represent an uncertainty for BTIG analyst, Rich Greenfield.

“We increasingly believe domestic eyewear subsidies to RealD will be reduced or cut entirely over the next couple of years,” he wrote. “Unless RealD is going to give substantial shares/options to the Hollywood studios, RealD will not be able to sustain a 50 cents-per-attendee subsidy from the Hollywood studios. We believe the studios have movie-to-movie contracts with RealD and that all of them believe they are paying unnecessarily for the glasses.”

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