Event registration services firm Active Network Inc has an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the table, to raise up to US$150 million, according to an SEC filing.
The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined. A portion of the shares will be issued and sold by Active Network, and a portion will be sold by certain stockholders of Active Network.
With a strong presence across a range of sports, and a key role in the multisport industry, Active Network provides technology to organisations throughout the world that run activities or manage events and facilities.
From online registration to transaction processing to marketing services, Active drives an increase in attendance and revenue for its clients. Comprehensive event, participant and resource management solutions are designed to help organisations simplify business operations and reduce costs.
Having provided online registration services for events, the company then promotes the events on its network of sites, including its flagship Active.com.
The company, which primarily makes money by charging users who sign up for events, saw revenue increase by 16% to US$218 million during the first nine months of 2010. (Active Network posted a net loss of US$18.2 million, down slightly from US$23.8 million in the previous period.)
Proceeds from the IPO will be used to repay US$43.3 million in outstanding debt.
The company said that other proceeds will go towards ‘funding potential acquisitions and for general corporate purposes, including financing our growth, developing additional application services functionality and features, acquiring new customers and funding capital expenditures.’
BofA Merrill Lynch and Citi are the bookrunning managers of the proposed offering, while Allen & Company LLC, Stifel Nicolaus Weisel, RBC Capital Markets Corp, ThinkEquity LLC, and WR Hambrecht+Co, LLC will act as the co-managers.
