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Offie - At this point, an IPO in late November or December would still be possible if it were imperative that it be done by then, but IMO there's no good reason to rush, and it appears to me that all concerned want to do the best possible job in all phases of the process rather than playing beat the clock. A strong foundation is necessary because, as John Collins once said to me, "we are building a skyscraper," not a shack. That means negotiating the best possible deal with the underwriters, producing the best possible registration statement (both to speed it through SEC review and to help sell the deal), doing the best possible dog-and-pony show, and making sure that everything is firing on all cylinders operationally within the company at the time of the IPO. In addition, while it might be interesting to see what would happen if we were the only deal out there in early December, no one knows whether Y2K fears will make it difficult to sell an IPO at that time. To me, all signs are pointing to January, by which time the revenues should be flowing nicely and the company will have had the opportunity to present its vision at several fairs and conventions in New York, LA and elsewhere. An added benefit, for anyone who might want to sell some stock into a first-day surge, would be a tax hit in April 2001, not April 2000 as it would be if the first-day surge occurred in 1999. -Eric |
