NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — BWay Holding Co. and BioFuel Energy Corp. reduced the number of shares and price of their initial public offerings, while two other companies — including Bermuda-based insurer GeoVera Insurance Holdings — postponed their stock sales as investors shunned slower-growth industries.Shareholders in BWay, an Atlanta-based maker of metal and plastic containers, sold 15 percent fewer shares than planned, while Denver-based ethanol company BioFuel Energy Corp. cut the size and price of its IPO a second time. GeoVera and Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc. delayed their offerings.

"Investors are interested in the here and now," said David Menlow, president of Millburn, New Jersey-based IPOFinancial.com. "It's important to recognise growth prospects for the company."

At least three US IPOs priced above their predicted ranges last week as investors demanded stocks in companies in high-growth markets. Shares of Limelight Networks Inc., a Tempe, Arizona-based web-video provider, rose 48 percent on June 8.

Infinera Corp., a Sunnyvale, California-based high-speed optical-networking firm, saw its stock gain 52 percent on June 7, while a day earlier shares of mobile phone equipment maker Starent Networks Corp. climbed 17 percent.

"When you get a week like last week when tech deals are coming and popping 30 to 40 percent, the expectation forms that its an easy market to price in," said Ben Holmes, who tracks IPOs as publisher of Boulder, Colorado-based Morningnotes.com. "Unfortunately these businesses of insurance, paint buckets and ethanol just don't inspire investors the same way."

BioFuel, which is constructing plants in Wood River, Nebraska, and Fairmont, Minnesota, sold 5.25 million shares for $10.50 each, according to Bloomberg data.

Current stockholders including David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital LLC and Daniel Loeb's Third Point LLC, both New York-based hedge funds, will purchase 4.25 million shares in a simultaneous private placement, according to a regulatory filing. The total raised would be $99.75 million, 55 percent less than the original amount sought.

BioFuel originally planned to sell 9.5 million shares to the public for $16 to $18 apiece, according to an April 23 regulatory filing. The company reduced its expected price to $13 to $14 a share and announced the private placement on Wednesday.

The sale is being managed by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., and A.G. Edwards Inc. with assistance from Bear Stearns Cos. and Cowen Group Inc. A message for Honey Rand, spokeswoman at BioFuel, wasn't immediately returned.

BWay and its shareholders planned to raise as much as $211.8 million. The company's stockholders sold 10 million shares for $15 each, 25 percent below the number of shares and price outlined in a filing with the SEC. Originally BWay planned to sell 11.8 million shares for $16 to $18 each.

Private equity firm Kelso & Co. LP, based in New York, owned about 86 percent of BWay before the offering, according to a June 12 SEC filing. The firm, which bought BWay for about $281 million in 2003, was planning to reduce its holdings to 39 percent. All of the shares sold in the IPO were by shareholders with no proceeds going to the company, BWay said in a statement. A call to Jeffrey O'Connell, a BWay vice president, wasn't returned.

The sale was managed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. with assistance from Deutsche Bank AG and JPMorgan.

Shares fell 40 cents, or 2.7 percent to $14.60 at 4:01 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading under the ticker BWY.

GeoVera postponed its IPO, according to Bloomberg data. The company, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, and its shareholders planned to sell 5.9 million shares for $16 to $18 each, according to a May 25 regulatory filing.

The firm specialises in residential property insurance in hurricane-and-earthquake-prone states, regulatory filings show.

The sale was being managed by JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch & Co. with assistance from three other banks. The company planned to list on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker GEOV.

A voicemail message left for Maria Pacheco at the Bermuda office of GeoVera's counsel, Appleby, wasn't immediately returned. A voicemail left in the main mailbox at GeoVera also wasn't returned.

Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Bridgewater, New Jersey-based maker of cardiovascular and metabolic treatments, postponed its $80.5 million sale, according to Bloomberg data. The firm planned to sell 5 million shares for $12 to $14 each, according to a May 25 filing.

The sale was being managed by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. with assistance from three other banks. A message left at the company wasn't immediately returned.