MediaMind Reevaluates IPO

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Slightly reining in its ambitions, MediaMind on Monday revealed more modest terms of a planned initial public offering. In March, the online ad campaign management firm -- known as Eyeblaster until last month -- filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to $115 million in an IPO of common stock. At the time, it didn't reveal how many shares it planned to sell, their expected price, or where they would be listed.

According to a new SEC filing, up to 5.8 million shares will be sold at $14 to $16 each, which amounts to about $73 million. Under the new terms, there will be some 18 million shares outstanding after the IPO. MediaMind said it plans to use the proceeds to establish new relationships with ad holding companies, media publishers and technology companies; and increase its global footprint.

In the filing, the company also outlined some serious risks to investors. "We face significant competition from Google and Microsoft and may not be able to compete successfully with such powerful competitors," it notes. What's more: "We face intense and increasing competition from other companies within our industry and may not be able to compete successfully with such competitors."

MediaMind also said the loss of a major customer, such as Microsoft, "or a reduction in any such customer's Internet advertising or marketing budget" could significantly reduce its revenue and profitability. Company representatives say they were not able to further discuss these issues on Monday.

On the bright side, the company said it swung to a first-quarter profit of $42,000 as revenue jumped 40% from $11.4 million to $16 million year-over-year. Net income was $560,000, compared to a loss of $473,000 during the same period a year earlier.

In the filing, MediaMind also said it has applied to be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol MDMD.

While he was not at liberty to discuss the IPO directly, Gal Trifon, co-founder and CEO of MediaMind, recently said it was not directly related to the rebranding effort. Both initiatives, he said, would help lead the company into the future. Then known as Eyeblaster, New York-based MediaMind actually filed for an IPO back in March 2008, but had to cancel its plans due to rough market conditions. Hardly an anomaly, at least 26 tech companies canceled their IPOs that year, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Institutions and investors underwriting this latest IPO include J.P. Morgan Securities, Deutsche Bank Securities, Pacific Crest Securities LLC, FBR Capital Markets & Co, ThinkEquity, and Broadpoint Capital, according to a preliminary prospectus filed with the SEC.

As a company rooted in the world of rich media, MediaMind has more recently secured its position as an independent ad-serving platform through deals with heavyweights like GroupM's MediaCom last summer.

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