Paul-Intel will have a 7.1 percent stake in Immersion Corp.
Do you think this may be another "Red Hat" type deal ?
Thursday September 2, 11:02 am Eastern Time
"Feel technology" company Immersion
files for IPO
By Peter Ramjug
WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Immersion Corp., whose ``feel
technology' brings life-like sensations to computer mice and joysticks,
said it plans to raise more than $53 million in an initial public offering of
common stock.
``The vibrations of turbulence in flight, the impact of a bat against a ball and the rumble of a powerful
engine are examples of sensations that our technology allows software developers to simulate and users
to feel,' the company said.
``The result: more realistic and compelling games,' added Immersion, founded in 1993 to develop
technologies that help improve human-to-computer interaction.
Immersion's feel technology includes a combination of sophisticated hardware and software designs for
which the company holds 33 U.S. patents and has more than 100 more patents pending in the United
States and abroad.
Immersion currently licenses its technologies to companies like Logitech International SA (Nasdaq:LOGIY -
news) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news), and its objective is to make feel as common as
graphics and sound in computers.
``While most modern computers realistically present information to the senses of sight and sound, they still
lack the ability to convey content through the sense of touch,' said Immersion, which is headquartered in
San Jose, Calif.
Immersion did not say, in its preliminary prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission filed on
Wednesday, how many shares are in the IPO, their projected price range or other details.
The $53 million figure was used solely to calculate the SEC registration fee, the company said. Immersion is
expected to amend that figure and include details of the IPO in subsequent filings.
The company has applied to trade the shares on Nasdaq under the symbol (Nasdaq:IMMR - news), and
the underwriters are Hambrecht & Quist, Bear Stearns, and BancBoston Robertson Stephens.
Immersion, which has incurred losses in every fiscal quarter since 1997 and expects losses through at least
2000, said it plans to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including
working capital.
Major shareholders in the company include Logitech, with a 10.8 percent stake, and Intel Corp.
(Nasdaq:INTC - news) with 7.1 percent, according to the SEC filing.
|
