Medidata, LogMeIn Readying to Test IPO Waters

It's looking like the initial public offerings of Rosetta Stone Inc. (NYSE:RST) and Bridgepoint Education Inc. (NYSE:BPI) may well be the rays of light showing through the dam of backlogged venture-backed technology companies waiting to go out.

LogMeIn Inc. certainly hopes so, as it took the step of setting terms for a $100 million IPO in a regulatory filing Tuesday. The Woburn, Mass.-based company expects to offer 6.7 million shares at a price range of $14.00 to $16.00 during the week of June 29. The S-1 filing lists Prism Venture Partners (23.79%), Polaris Venture Partners (20.99%), Technologieholding Central and Eastern European Funds (15.83), Integral Capital Partners (8.91%) and Intel Capital (5.43%) as the largest stakeholders.

A successful offering by LogMeIn will be a big test of just how much appetite for growth plays the public markets have. While the company is profitable, it only became so in the first quarter of this year, posting a profit of $2.1 million on revenue of $17.2 million. The provider of remote connectivity software for enterprises and consumers reported a net loss in 2008, although revenue grew quickly, doubling to $51.7 million last year.

The offering could be helped along by a successful debut of Medidata Solutions Worldwide the previous week. Like LogMeIn, Medidata is a growth story. It only posted its first profit of $1.7 million in the first quarter of 2009 but has top-line growth of 67% year-over-year. Medidata, which provides a technology platform for capturing and managing clinical trial data, wants to raise $76 million by selling 6.3 million shares at a price range of $11.00 to $13.00.

The Medidata IPO could mark another home run for venture capital firm Insight Venture Partners, which reaped roughly 4.5 times its $50 million investment in network management software developer SolarWinds Inc. (SWI) when the company went public in May. - George White

Comments

[Burningmax:]

Full disclosure, I briefly worked for Logmein a few years ago. Its a well run business with an interesting mix of consumer and business clients. I've always wondered my they don't tap the advertising potential of their free products. These reach an elite core of technically influential types.
I've seen few tech plays that are as viable, sustainable, and with untapped potential as this one. I'll be long on it,

Jun 17 11:43 AM