Current Media, the media company backed by former Vice President Al Gore, has cancelled the $100 million IPO that it originally announced in January 2008.
In a document submitted earlier today, Current TV attributed the IPO’s cancellation to the current economy:
In light of current market conditions, the Registrant has determined not to proceed at this time with the public offering contemplated by the Registration Statement. The Registrant hereby confirms that no securities have been sold pursuant to the Registration Statement and all activity regarding the proposed public offering has been discontinued. The Registrant hereby informs the Staff that it may undertake a subsequent private offering in reliance on the safe harbor set forth in Rule 155(c) promulgated under the Act.
The media company is best known for cable channel Current TV, which is broadcast internationally to 59 million homes with markets in regions including the United States, Italy, and the UK. Current also has a strong web presence, tapping into popular social media services like Digg and Twitter for special events like the 2008 presidential election.
The network’s social media efforts during the election were deemed a success by the company, but it was still hit by layoffs in November, when it said that the IPO was being “put on hold”. Current says that there have have been no further layoffs since then, and that the direction of the company has not changed.
Via PEhub
IPO’s are abut the right move at the right time. Now it’s not the right time. Smart move to not make the move right now.
Do- they need capital to exist or to expand – or just to enjoy it because they can?
So, Current WOULD be moving forward with their ipo IF market conditions were more favorable? I find that hard to believe. They would have been forced to pull this IPO regardless of market conditions unless they could pack the whole company into the Way Back Machine and set the dial for the dotcom boom…
A site that gets less traffic than 1.5M visitors per month (non-unique) and little in site revenue combined with a cable station that hardly gets watched just isn’t worth a $100M IPO.
They seem to have a lot of hand-waving and that’s about it. The concept is interesting but the numbers just don’t add up–especially given their burn.
Further complicate that with a tech team that is headed by idiots and an executive team that didn’t even bother to give options to employees means they have little allegiance from the smartest and brightest core.
Good luck. Nice idea. Poor execution, and god-awful management.
not prudent, either, with 2 of their reporters locked up in N. Korea, eh?
i completely agree peter urban dis aint d right tym…
The tv shows werent very entertaining, oops, spoke about them in the past tense there.
Anything Al Gore touches will be a fraud. Fits in with his so-called human caused global warming. Please.
ipo? this thing won’t even be here in two years. media and online is ten times oversaturated people. pick another career path.
If by ’success’ the mean colossal failure, then yes, their social media efforts during the election was a HUGE success!
wonder if the canceling had anything to do with the SarbanesOxley Act?
this is funny because if they truly believed in their business idea they would charge forward instead they are in it for a short term profit