Silknet, Juno, AdForce File for IPOs; Neon Goes Public

Computergram International, March 8, 1999

E-commerce software provider Silknet Software Inc has filed with the SEC for an initial public offering of common stock worth up to $34.5m. The company has yet to set the number of shares to be offered or the offering price, but said all of the shares will be offered by the company. Credit Suisse First Boston has signed on as the lead manager of the offering and BancBoston Robertson Stephens, NationsBanc Montgomery Securities LLC and First Union Capital Markets Corp are all co-managers.

Manchester, New Hampshire-based Silknet markets software that it claims enables companies to offer personalized marketing, sales, e-commerce and customer support services through a single, company-tailored web site. The company has 121 employees and, according to its regulatory filing, saw a net loss of $6.9m in fiscal 1998 on revenue of $3.6m. The shares will trade on the Nasdaq market under the ticker symbol SILK.

Internet service provider, Juno Online Services Inc has also filed a registration statement with the SEC for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock. In its filing, Juno, which has proposed the ticker symbol JWEB, registered to sell up to $86.3m in shares. The offering will be lead managed by Salomon Smith Barney Inc. New York-based Juno made its name by offering advertising-supported free internet access and email services. The company lost $31.6m last year on revenue of $21.7m.

Joining them on the road to an offering is AdForce Inc, a Cupertino, California-based firm which provides outsourced ad management and delivery services on the internet. The company has filed to raise up to $55m, although the exact number of shares and offering price have yet to be determined. AdForce, in whom America Online Inc holds a 14% stake, reported a $15m net loss last year on $4.3m in revenue, after a loss of $5.7m on $320,000 in sales the year before. Hambrecht & Quist LLC is the lead underwriter of the offering.

Also last week, Neon Systems Inc, Sugar Land, Texas-based application integration and mainframe connectivity specialist, went public with an initial offering of 2.7 million shares at $15 a piece. All but 64,000 shares were sold by the company, raising $39.5m for it, before expenses. Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette was the lead manager for the deal. The shares, trading on Nasdaq under the symbol NESY, jumped as high as $28.625, before closing up 67% at $25.0625. Volume was 6.5 million. Unusual among technology companies going public these days, Neon is profitable, having posted 1998 net income of $1.2m on revenue of $12m.