Wall Street’s trying to entice sidelined investors back into the market with an “easy money” initial public offering, Cramer said Monday. Bristol-Myers Squibb is selling off a piece of its baby-formula subsidiary Mead Johnson, and the IPO’s priced to go higher.

The Street often does this kind of thing after an extended downturn. Brokers figure the chance for a quick buck might loosen the death grip timid investors have on their savings. Visa, when it came public back in March 2008, was a similar opportunity.

Let’s be clear, though: This is only a play on the deal itself, not Mead Johnson stock, which will trade under the ticker symbol MJN. Cramer likes the company, but a later purchase on the open market won’t make you any money. So call your broker and try to get in on the actual IPO. Otherwise forget about it.

Bristol-Myers

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[BMY  Loading...      ()   ] is selling only 13% of Mead Johnson’s equity – 25 million Class A shares, or 28.75 million with overallotment, out of about 200 million total shares. That leaves BMY with 98% of the voting power. Such a tiny float usually causes big swings in share price, which is another reason Cramer thinks MJN could pop.

The deal’s being priced between $21 and $24 a share, and Cramer doesn’t like MJN much higher than that after the stock starts trading. So again, don’t come late to this party. You’re either in on the IPO, or you’re not.





Cramer's charitable trust owns Bristol-Myers Squibb.

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