Mpath nearly triples in first trading day
Kevin:
Just ran into this over at CNET>
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By Bloomberg News
Special to CNET News.com
April 29, 1999, 4:00 p.m. PT
(update) MOUNTAIN VIEW, California--Mpath Interactive, which develops technology that lets Web sites create interactive communities for real-time games and other activities, almost tripled in its first day of trading after an initial stock sale.
California-based company rose 32.63 to 50.63 as 8.65 million shares changed hands on the Nasdaq. At the closing price, Mpath has a market value of $1.08 billion. The company yesterday sold 3.9 million shares, or an 18 percent stake, at $18 each, raising $70.2 million.
Mpath's products let Web site users communicate with each other almost instantly through graphics, text, music, and voice, the company said in its IPO filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such an environment entices visitors to remain at a site for longer periods, giving advertisers more time to reach consumers.
"This is a company that is at the top of its game when it comes to interactive" software, said Ben Holmes, president of IpoPros.com, a Boulder, Colorado-based research boutique that specializes in initial public offerings.
Businesses are coming to rely more on the Web for their communications and will find Mpath's technology increasingly useful, Holmes said. "The technology has a much broader use than has ever been realized before."
The company licenses its technology to companies such as Electronic Arts and Gtech Holdings. It also runs its own Web sites, which attract about 80,000 visitors a day who use the sites for an average of 300 minutes per month, Mpath said in its IPO filing.
The company lost $12 million on revenue of $8.03 million last year, compared with a loss of $13.7 million on revenue of $2.73 million in 1997.
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