The market to underwrite deals, including IPOs, is heating up, and we're seeing banks undertake some interesting ploys to fill up their pipelines and then lock in the companies. A great example is Goldman Sachs' deal to invest in Facebook and find other investors. While the execution was hardly perfect--recall the switcheroo on U.S. investors--the bank did put itself in the pole position regarding a future Facebook IPO and follow-on deals.

Similarly, Goldman has taken a stake in the U.K.-based AppSense, which pitches itself as an emerging leader in the realm of virtualization, reports the blog TechEurope. Goldman has taken a $70 million stake in the company, which makes it a key minority owner. It will also place one executive on the AppSense board.

One key factor in differentiating Goldman from other would-be investors was the firm's prowess with IPOs, the company said.

We're likely going to see more of this. JPMorgan, for example, drew attention recently for its efforts to create a social media fund that would target companies that could generate returns in several ways, including IPOs.

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