RPT-IPO View-Dog days of summer for private equity-backed IPOs

(Repeating item that initially moved on Friday)

By Jonathan Keehner

NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Private equity firms, until recently the high flyers of finance, have had a tough summer.

Not only are they suddenly struggling to finance leveraged buyouts the market once welcomed, the companies they have taken public have lately been bombing with investors.

Online travel company Orbitz Worldwide (OWW.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and recruitment company Dice Holdings Inc (DHX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are two of the summer's biggest duds, both down about 20 percent since being brought to market by private equity firms.

Of all the companies floating shares this year, three of the five worst performers were backed by private equity firms, according to Dealogic. Of the best performing companies, just one was backed by private equity.

Strong summer offerings like E-House Holdings Ltd (EJ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), a Chinese real estate company previously owned by management, and software maker VMware Inc (VMW.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), spun off by EMC Corp (EMC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), have been a bright spot.

But IPOs backed by private equity -- which have outperformed public offerings overall so far this year, according to Dealogic -- seem to be losing their appeal. High leverage and rich valuations, hallmarks of private equity-backed offerings, are starting to unnerve investors.

"Buyout-backed IPOs have historically done well but that could definitely change in a different credit environment," said University of Florida finance professor Jay Ritter. "That's a real concern with so many buyout-backed IPOs having recently gone public and the debt financing environment changing."