LinkedIn Goes Public As Profitable Entity
After years of build-up, LinkedIn has finally filed to go public at a likely valuation of $2 billion. The social-networking site for professionals is hoping to raise up to $175 million to scale its business and develop new services.
Opening its books as part of the IPO process, LinkedIn revealed that net revenue nearly doubled to $161.4 million in the first nine months of 2010 -- up from $80.8 million in 2009 -- with $1.85 million in profit.
LinkedIn said it is now profitable, with net income of $10.1 million -- up from a loss of $3.38 million during the first nine months of 2009.
According to the company, 41% of its revenue presently comes from job-related products that help companies search for potential employees; 32% comes from ad sales; and the remaining 27% comes from paid subscriptions.
Already, LinkedIn says it has $89.6 million in cash and cash equivalents on hand.
Yet its niche market is evolving quickly as it faced increasing competition from smaller international rivals, like Xing in Germany and Viadeo in France. It's also widely believed that LinkedIn is wise to go public before Facebook -- which, even without an IPO, represents an existential threat to any social network on the Web.
Along with potential acquisitions, LinkedIn said the additional funds are needed "for general corporate purposes, including working capital, sales and marketing activities, general and administrative matters and capital expenditures."
In its filing with the SEC, LinkedIn added: "We believe that our members and the enterprises and professional organizations that use our platform are only beginning to leverage the power and potential of our network and its underlying database of professional information."
To date, acquisitions include personalization startup mSpoke and ChoiceVendor, which rates and reviews business service providers, for which it paid $736,000 and $4.989 million, respectively. LinkedIn's registered membership increased almost two-thirds to 90 million last year -- up from 55 million users in 2009. So far, the company has raised over $80 million, including $53 million in a key financing round led by Bain Capital in mid-2008.
Recent Online Media Daily Articles
-
Acquisitions Flourish, Google To Seek Equity Firm To Further Deals June 19, 1:24 p.m.
Google is considering alliances with private-equity firms to help structure acquisition deals, but the tech company ... -
Millennial Expands Video Ad Options June 19, 11:44 a.m.
Mobile ad network Millennial Media is stepping up its video ad offerings with the launch of ... -
CIMM Issues Request For Data, Cross-Platform Metrics June 19, 9:29 a.m.
The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) said it has issued a request for proposals involving ... -
Heads Or Tails: Facebook Grows A Long One, Surpasses 1 Million Advertisers June 19, 7:48 a.m.
Facebook has reached an important ad industry milestone, becoming one of the few mega platforms to ... -
Consumer Action: Most Web Users Want Control Over Tracking June 18, 8:20 p.m.
Most Web users have expectations about privacy that appear to be at odds with current practices ... -
Affiliate Channels Attract Global Buying, Tailored Marketing Programs June 18, 5:54 p.m.
The Internet continues to make the world smaller for affiliate marketers, but there are physical challenges ... -
Motorola Hires Digitas For Global Media Account June 18, 5:43 p.m.
Google-owned Motorola has appointed Publicis Groupe’s Digitas to handle global media duties, according to sources. Those ... -
Microsoft Rolls Out Ad Pano, Mobile Ad Format June 18, 3:03 p.m.
With the help of the broader ad industry, Microsoft this week is rolling out a mobile ... -
Kiip Debuts Self-Serve Option For Advertisers June 18, 2:23 p.m.
Mobile rewards network Kiip has added a self-serve option for advertisers aimed at attracting more small- and medium-sized ... -
Mindshare Taps Elkins As Managing Director, Digital, West Coast June 18, 1:51 p.m.
Mindshare, part of WPP's GroupM, has tapped digital marketing veteran Amy Elkins to be managing director, ...
Be the first to comment on "LinkedIn Goes Public As Profitable Entity"
Leave a Comment