Barnesandnoble.com raised approximately $421 million when the e-retailer made its Wall Street debut last week. The net proceeds were more than double the amount the company expected to generate: when B&N.com first announced in March that it was preparing a public offering , it projected total proceeds of $200 million (News, Mar. 29). The company upped the offering in early May, pricing its shares between $11 and $13, and raised the ante again the day before the offering to between $16 and $18 per share. The offering of 25 million shares went out at $18 per share and closed at $22.94, a 27% increase, after the first day of trading.
While the gain was small compared to the high-flying debuts of other Internet stocks, the offering did well -- considering that the market for Internet companies has cooled in recent weeks. Amazon's stock, for example, fell nearly six points the day of the Barnesandnoble.com market launch.
Following the offering, Barnes &Noble and Bertelsmann each retained an approximately 41% stake in the company, with the public holding an 18% share. Barnesandnoble.com previously reported that it plans to use the proceeds to cover operating losses, including investments in sales and marketing and infrastructure upgrades. The company may also use the money to make acquisitions.
B&N.com's final prospectus provided an update on the status of the company. According to the document, Barnesandnoble.com had an accumulated deficit of $116.9 million through March 31, 1999. That loss included $27.2 million in payments to strategic partners like AOL, Microsoft and Lycos, as well as $49 million in advertising expenses. Although the company, which now has 701 employees, anticipates an increase in revenues, significant operating losses are expected for the foreseeable future.
The prospectus further noted that the Federal Trade Commission is reviewing Barnes &Noble's partnership with Bertelsmann and Bertelsmann's investment in B&N.com, as part of its review of Barnes &Noble's proposed purchase of Ingram. Barnes andnoble.com said it believes that the agreement between B&N and Bertelsmann was completed in compliance with applicable antitrust laws. In a final note, the prospectus said that consumers can now use the URL bn.com to reach its Web site rather than the more cumbersome barnes andnoble.com.
