PointCast Files For IPO
(05/14/98; 6:11 p.m. ET)
By Malcolm Maclachlan, TechInvestor
Ending months of speculation, PointCast filed Thursday
with the Securities & Exchange Commission for an
initial public offering. According to the filing statement,
the company will be offering 3.75 million shares
between $10 and $12 per share.
PointCast is one of the pioneers of push technology,
and one of the few companies to survive the push craze.
Its technology is used to create networks that bring
news and other information directly to user desktops,
with content from scores of newspapers and other news
sources, including CMPnet.
On May 4, PointCast released the newest version of its
network, PointCast 2.5. The latest version includes a
number of market channels for specific industries,
including telecommunications, government, and
healthcare. In recent months, the company has been
working to cement its place within corporations by
offering increased business content, and fixing problems
that have clogged corporate networks.
PointCast claims 1.2 million registered users, 60
percent of whom connect from the office.
The company has long been touted as a hot IPO
candidate. Yet CEO Dave Dorman said only two
months ago that the company was in no hurry to go
public.
Like many other Internet start-ups, PointCast has yet to
turn a profit. It posted a loss of $29.1 million in 1997,
and turned in a loss of $6.4 million for the first three
months of this year.
There will be over 21.3 million shares outstanding after
the IPO. At the proposed offering price, even
conservative estimates give PointCast a market
capitalization of more than $250 million.
Both Dorman and company founder Christopher
Hassett will do well in the deal. Dorman will get 2
million shares, more than 10 percent of the company,
worth at least $20 million. Hassett will receive more
than 1.5 million, worth nine percent, valued at at least
$15 million.
The offering's underwriters are Lehman Brothers, BT
Alex. Brown, and BancAmerica Robertson Stephens. |
