Struggling gay and lesbian media and entertainment company PlanetOut Inc. [LGBT] late Monday said it has retained Allen & Company LLC to assist it in evaluating strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company.
For the first nine months of 2007, PlanetOut reported a loss of $33.1 million on revenues of $39.8 million. The company last July raised $26.2 million in equity financing from a group of investors that included Special Situations Funds, Cascade Investment LLC, SF Capital Partners, PAR Investment Partners LP and Allen & Co. It sold its its travel business, RSVP, to Atlantis Events Inc. for an undisclosed sum in October, a little more than a year after acquiring it.
Trading at $6.20 on Monday, PlanetOut has a market capitalization of $25.4 million. With such a cheap price and obvious appeal as a provider of information to a niche market, PlanetOut should be able to find a buyer, unless its finances scare everyone off.
