Classmates IPO Canceled

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Citing poor market conditions, United Online Inc. announced Wednesday that it had decided to cancel its initial public offering for its popular Web site Classmates.com.

United Online had announced the IPO in August and was hoping to fetch about $125 million for the Nasdaq offering, which was expected to be priced later this week. The Woodland Hills-based online provider had acquired Classmates Media Corp. in 2004


“United Online has determined that proceeding with the initial public offering under current market conditions would not be in the best interests of its stockholders,” the company said in a statement.


Classmates.com has increased its revenue more than 44 percent to $140 million over the first nine months of this year, making it one of the most profitable Web properties United Online controls. However, investor interest in technology companies has waned significantly since the late summer, with only eight tech companies successfully executing IPOs this quarter, according to Thomson Financial.


United Online plans to take a fourth quarter charge of $4.5 million to $5.5 million because of the decision.


Shares in United Online fell 8.3 percent to $11.30 in early trading Wednesday on the Nasdaq.

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