Outstanding shares will be 90,000,000 (8,000,000 are being offered). So even at the IPO price of between $16 to $18, this would be a billion and a half dollar market cap ('outstanding shares' x 'price per share'). The underwriters are, quite rightly, going along with the massive valuation the market is putting on these Net infrastructure stox, in order to pull in more funds for the company.
Check out the level of hype in this press release.... Pushing all the right buttons to get retail investors foaming at the mouth.
"AKAMAI EXPANDS GLOBAL NETWORK TO 1,200 SERVERS"
akamai.com
"Akamai has built a worldwide network for fast and reliable Internet content delivery."
"Akamai Teams with Network Providers and ISPs Around the Globe"
""Akamai is excited to be working with these top-notch network providers and ISPs across the world," said George Conrades, chairman and CEO of Akamai. "In addition to giving our network global reach, each of our carrier and ISP partners provide us with access to their tremendous user base. Every network provider that we partner with becomes a key enabler in Akamai's effort to make the Internet a more enriching and interactive medium for major Web site owners and their customers"
From what I can tell, "building" this vast global network simply involves calling up a long list of web hosters and ISPs and saying "can we send you one of our PCs for free for you to put on one of your racks and plug in?". Of course no one is going to say no.
I guess putting a PC on a shelf and plugging in an ethernet cable makes you a key enabling global partner these days. ;)
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BTW - 1998 sales were $0:
hoovers.com
IMHO a reasonable amount to pay for this IPO is $3.50 per share. Yes, I think I'm going to put my limit order in now for $3.50 and see what happens next week:) |
