Is the Tech IPO Back?
It was somewhat startling to surf on over to Business 2.0, and see a story proclaiming: “Tech IPOs: They’re Back!”. Other than Vonage’s high-profile offering, which has subsequently bombed, there really hasn’t been many tech IPOs since the dot-com boom went bust. Maybe it’s a lack of investor appetite, maybe it’s the high cost of complying with Sarbanes-Oxley, or maybe it’s just that getting acquired by Google, et al is the end goal because it requires less work. Business 2.0 writer Michael Copeland believes the landscape is changing:
“Get ready for a tidal shift. Judging by the number of companies that have already filed or indicated that they might, 2007 is shaping up to be the biggest year for initial public offerings in the tech world since the end of the dotcom bubble in 2000.”
That’s a pretty bold statement, and not one that I would embrace given there just doesn’t seem to be that much talk or excitement about IPOs. Still, Business 2.0 has identified six potential candidates (which probably means they’re on someone’s M&A list as we speak). This list includes: Art.com, MetroPCS, NetSuite, Postini, Tellme Networks and Zappos.com. I’d be curious about other potential IPO candidates that should be on the list.
Technorati Tags: IPOs
February 22nd, 2007 at 5:56 pm
An interesting take would be to look at the Canadian companies who have gone public in the last couple of years. The TSX venture exchange is pushing hard for CPC listings as a way for raising growth capital - and a number of Canadian companies have recently gone public (Hostopia, Sandvine etc.)
The threshold for going public in Canada has always been lower, but there are unique reasons why (SOX etc.) that Canadian and the AIM markets are getting attenion.
-Austin