As far as anecdotal indicators go, it's not exactly Goldman, but it's something. <g>
news.com
TheStreet.com considering public offering
By Bloomberg News
Special to CNET News.com
December 9, 1998, 7:40 p.m. PT
TheStreet.com will consider selling shares to the public next year, according to
the chief executive of the Internet financial news publication.
Going public in 1999 "is a strong possibility, depending on market conditions and other
variables," Kevin English, TheStreet.com's chief executive, said in an interview.
"We have tremendous traction as a business and a lot of momentum," he contended. TheStreet.com, launched in 1996, has 26,000 paid subscribers and an additional 24,000 readers with free access for a trial period, English said. While the company doesn't disclose results, advertising revenues exceed revenues from subscriptions, and the company expects to turn its first profit in 1999.
Investor demand for stock of Internet-related companies has been virtually insatiable recently. Today, Xoom.com, a shopping concern, more than doubled to 34.4375 after an initial public offering yesterday of $14.
English stressed TheStreet.com hasn't discussed an offering with investment bankers.
"We have no immediate plans to go public," he said, "but it is under consideration."
MarketWatch.com, operator of the CBS.Marketwatch.com financial news site, is planning an IPO. It plans to sell 2.75 million common shares for between $10 and $12, according to documents it filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
TheStreet.com has raised $22 million in private equity investments, English said.
Investors include James Cramer, the money manager and Street.com columnist and
founder; Martin Peretz, editor-in-chief of The New Republic and another founder; and
venture capital firms Flatiron Partners and Chase Capital Partners.
English said additional private investments will be announced in coming weeks. Most of
the TheStreet.com's 90 fulltime employees have stock options, he said.
Trading of options on a TheStreet.com Internet index began today on the Philadelphia
Stock Exchange. Speculators can buy and sell options based on the index, which tracks
the performance of 20 Internet stocks.
Street.com subscribers pay $9.95 a month or $99.95 a year. |
