LinkedIn plans to sell shares at $42 to $45 each# Stock
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The company, which operates a website where professionals connect with one
another, now plans to sell shares at $42 to $45 each, up from a previous
range of $32 to $35.
At the middle of that range, the nine-year-old company would be valued at $4
.11 billion.
The new price range values LinkedIn at almost 17 times its 2010 revenue.
That is about half the valuation multiple that investors are giving to
Facebook, which is expected to go public in April 2012 and now has a market
value of around $70 billion.
Both companies are expensive compared with other tech stalwarts, including
Google Inc, whose shares trade at about six times revenue.
To some investors, LinkedIn's valuation is too high.
"I wouldn't touch the stock, I wouldn't own it, not at $45, not at $43,"
said Eric Jackson, managing member at hedge fund Ironfire Capital.
He might be willing to buy it at a much lower price, like around $25 a share
, he added.
The stock market's reception of LinkedIn will be an important gauge of
investor appetite for social networking, including the Big Four of the
social media space -- Facebook, Twitter, Groupon and Zynga -- which are
widely expected to go public in coming years.
LinkedIn's growth has been rapid: It doubled its revenue last year to $243.1
million and posted net income for common shareholders of $3.4 million.
However, in the risk factors section of its prospectus, the company
disclosed it does not expect to be profitable in 2011.
"Our philosophy is to continue to invest for future growth, and as a result
we do not expect to be profitable on a GAAP basis in 2011," the filing said,
referring to generally accepted accounting principles.
It is not uncommon for an unprofitable company to seek a U.S. public listing
, but it could give investors pause to see a company bluntly forecast
swinging to a loss during its first year as a publicly traded stock.
"If LinkedIn goes out and doesn't trade well that could present a problem
marketing other social media companies going forward," said Yvan-Claude
Pierre, a corporate lawyer at DLA Piper in New York who has represented
companies that are going public.
Companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Groupon and Zynga have stoked investor
interest in social media companies and command multibillion-dollar private
market valuations.
But there are signs investor appetite could be waning. Renren, a company
sometimes called the Facebook of China, went public in the United States
earlier this month. Its shares soared 29 percent in their debut, but have
since dropped below the IPO price.
French social networking site Viadeo, the second-biggest social networking
site for professionals behind LinkedIn, said on Monday it would defer plans
to go public.
Ironfire's Jackson thinks LinkedIn has some positives, including its built-
in professional audience, but its biggest problem is its bottom line.
"LinkedIn has its niche and Facebook has its niche. Facebook's is much
bigger and much more profitable," Jackson said.
Of the 7.84 million shares LinkedIn is offering, 4.83 million will come from
the company and the rest from stockholders.
LinkedIn co-founder and ex-PayPal executive Reid Hoffman is among the
stockholders selling shares in the IPO, but he will still have 21.7 percent
of the voting power in the company after the offering. LinkedIn began in
Hoffman's living room in 2002.
Other big stakeholders selling shares in the IPO include Goldman Sachs Group
Inc, Bain Capital Venture Integral Investors LLC and McGraw-Hill Cos Inc.
LinkedIn, based in Mountain View, California, helps professionals find new
business contacts and reconnect with old ones.
"It's like a Rolodex on steroids," said Rich Stromback, a venture capitalist
who uses LinkedIn frequently.
Underwriters on the offering are being led by Morgan Stanley, Bank of
America and JPMorgan. The company's shares are expected to begin trading on
the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday under the symbol "LNKD."
another, now plans to sell shares at $42 to $45 each, up from a previous
range of $32 to $35.
At the middle of that range, the nine-year-old company would be valued at $4
.11 billion.
The new price range values LinkedIn at almost 17 times its 2010 revenue.
That is about half the valuation multiple that investors are giving to
Facebook, which is expected to go public in April 2012 and now has a market
value of around $70 billion.
Both companies are expensive compared with other tech stalwarts, including
Google Inc, whose shares trade at about six times revenue.
To some investors, LinkedIn's valuation is too high.
"I wouldn't touch the stock, I wouldn't own it, not at $45, not at $43,"
said Eric Jackson, managing member at hedge fund Ironfire Capital.
He might be willing to buy it at a much lower price, like around $25 a share
, he added.
The stock market's reception of LinkedIn will be an important gauge of
investor appetite for social networking, including the Big Four of the
social media space -- Facebook, Twitter, Groupon and Zynga -- which are
widely expected to go public in coming years.
LinkedIn's growth has been rapid: It doubled its revenue last year to $243.1
million and posted net income for common shareholders of $3.4 million.
However, in the risk factors section of its prospectus, the company
disclosed it does not expect to be profitable in 2011.
"Our philosophy is to continue to invest for future growth, and as a result
we do not expect to be profitable on a GAAP basis in 2011," the filing said,
referring to generally accepted accounting principles.
It is not uncommon for an unprofitable company to seek a U.S. public listing
, but it could give investors pause to see a company bluntly forecast
swinging to a loss during its first year as a publicly traded stock.
"If LinkedIn goes out and doesn't trade well that could present a problem
marketing other social media companies going forward," said Yvan-Claude
Pierre, a corporate lawyer at DLA Piper in New York who has represented
companies that are going public.
Companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Groupon and Zynga have stoked investor
interest in social media companies and command multibillion-dollar private
market valuations.
But there are signs investor appetite could be waning. Renren, a company
sometimes called the Facebook of China, went public in the United States
earlier this month. Its shares soared 29 percent in their debut, but have
since dropped below the IPO price.
French social networking site Viadeo, the second-biggest social networking
site for professionals behind LinkedIn, said on Monday it would defer plans
to go public.
Ironfire's Jackson thinks LinkedIn has some positives, including its built-
in professional audience, but its biggest problem is its bottom line.
"LinkedIn has its niche and Facebook has its niche. Facebook's is much
bigger and much more profitable," Jackson said.
Of the 7.84 million shares LinkedIn is offering, 4.83 million will come from
the company and the rest from stockholders.
LinkedIn co-founder and ex-PayPal executive Reid Hoffman is among the
stockholders selling shares in the IPO, but he will still have 21.7 percent
of the voting power in the company after the offering. LinkedIn began in
Hoffman's living room in 2002.
Other big stakeholders selling shares in the IPO include Goldman Sachs Group
Inc, Bain Capital Venture Integral Investors LLC and McGraw-Hill Cos Inc.
LinkedIn, based in Mountain View, California, helps professionals find new
business contacts and reconnect with old ones.
"It's like a Rolodex on steroids," said Rich Stromback, a venture capitalist
who uses LinkedIn frequently.
Underwriters on the offering are being led by Morgan Stanley, Bank of
America and JPMorgan. The company's shares are expected to begin trading on
the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday under the symbol "LNKD."
