Principal Financial's IPO Looks Promising

"Is this heaven?" "No, it's Iowa." That was the exchange between Ray Liotta's and Kevin Costner's characters in an Iowa corn field-turned-baseball diamond in the movie Field of Dreams. While insurance IPOs have returned less than heavenly results this year, one Des Moines insurer poised to go public next week may be the answer to some investors' prayers.

Principal Financial Group (proposed symbol PFG: NYSE) is scheduled to price its IPO on Monday, Oct. 22, for Tuesday's trading. The proposed sale of 100 million shares at a price range of $17 to $20 makes this the single largest U.S. equity deal in registration based on the number of shares being offered. Underwriter Goldman Sachs leads a twelve-firm syndicate group that includes Credit Suisse First Boston, Merrill Lynch, Salomon Smith Barney, Banc of America Securities, Bear Stearns, A.G. Edwards, Fox-Pitt Kelton, Chase H&Q JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, Ramirez & Co. and UBS Warburg Paine. ...