ExactTarget looks for an IPO bull's-eye

Posted Dec 17th 2007 5:03PM by Tom Taulli
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft (MSFT), salesforce.com inc (CRM), Initial Public Offerings

Constant Contact (NASDAQ: CTCT) launched its IPO back in early October, and the stock is since up about 35%. The company provides on-demand email marketing solutions primarily to small businesses.

Now, investors will have another email play -- ExactTarget has filed for an IPO.

However, ExactTarget's services are focused more on medium- and large-sized businesses. Some of the customers include Expedia.com, Florida Power and Light, USA TODAY, Liberty Mutual Group, Papa John's and Wellpoint (NYSE: WLP).

No doubt, ExactTarget's system integrates with major systems, such as Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)'s Dynamics CRM and Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM). There are also partnerships with web analytics firms, such as Omniture (NASDAQ: OMTR), WebTrends and Coremetrics.

For the first nine months of 2007, revenues came to $34.2 million, up from $22 million in the same period in 2006. In fact, the company has posted a profit of $2.1 million this year (which certainly is not the case with other on-demand players).

The lead underwriters on the IPO include Thomas Weisel Partners and William Blair & Company. The proposed ticker is "EXTG."

You can locate the prospectus at the SEC website. Also, if you want to check other recent IPO activity, visit DealProfiles.com.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Tags: ExactTarget, initial public offering, InitialPublicOffering, IPOs