aber Internet Capital hat den Vorteil, dass es fertige Ipo's in der Pipeline hat und Nachschub für 2010 und 2011.
Friday, February 20, 2009 Waiting for IPO: Metastorm weathering tough marketBaltimore Business Journal - by Scott Dance Staff Print Email Reprints RSS Feeds Add to Del.icio.us Digg This CommentsRelated News Maryland biotech roadmap calls for more money, but when? SBA to make new interest-free bridge loans available in June FDIC may sue bank officers, directors SBA will help auto dealers finance vehicle inventory Twenty-six companies make pitch at SmartStart venture forum Metastorm Inc. is waiting for the stock market to rebound before giving an initial public offering another go, despite posting a 29 percent increase in revenue in 2008. And company officials acknowledge that could mean they will be waiting a while.
Company leaders had said they hoped to make another run for Wall Street by the middle of 2009 when they pulled the company’s first IPO in November. But in a recent interview, Metastorm spokeswoman Laura Mooney wouldn’t nail down any specific time frame with the market as unpredictable as ever.
The company has enough cash to keep its pace through the year, after posting $77 million in revenue in 2008, Mooney said. And its sales are especially helped by the fact that more clients are buying its software, which helps companies automate and streamline their operations, in the recession. But delaying an IPO means suspending more rapid growth for which the company might otherwise be ready.
Metastorm may seek some outside funding, in the form of venture capital or other investment, to pay for other companies it might acquire in the second half of the year, Mooney said. But an IPO like the $86 million offering it sought last year would be one of the largest for the Baltimore tech community in years.
The company filed to go public in May, after a string of acquisitions in late 2007 bolstered its software line and global reach. Metastorm’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings revealed that the company had lost money — as much as $16 million in 2004 — until 2007 when it posted a $586,000 profit on $60 million in revenue.
In first quarter 2008, the company lost $5 million, according to SEC documents. Metastorm delayed the offering as the stock market teetered through most of 2008, until it crashed in the fall. Metastorm withdrew the IPO in November.
Metastorm never filed financial data on the rest of 2008, and Mooney would not say whether it was a profitable year.
But company officials are optimistic for 2009, citing the possible acquisitions. And the company is investing in its products, with three major updated lines slated to come out this year, Mooney said. The company has about 330 employees and is filling open positions, she said.
Forecasts show no signs of improvement in the IPO market. One IPO has been priced so far this year, Indiana-based Mead Johnson Nutrition, according to Renaissance Capital’s IPOHome.com. That’s compared to 18 and 35 priced IPOs in the first two months of 2008 and 2007, respectively.
Dennis Byron, a software analyst who owns Worcester, Mass., firm IT Investment Research, said there are signs of trouble for software firms in 2009, though. Many remained insulated from the recession through most of 2008, but have started to falter.
But if any software categories are set to fare better than others, Metastorm’s specialty may be among them, Byron said. Its main category, known as business process management, was expected to grow 20 percent in 2008. |