We’ve been hearing that Postini, a security and compliance company, is on track to file for their initial public offering in the next few weeks.
They recently hired a new CFO, Murray Demo, who can handle the IPO process. He was with Adobe for ten years and served as CFO for the last six. According to our source, the company held what is called a “bake off,” which is a selection process for the investment bankers who will market and sell the company’s stock in the IPO, and selected Merrill Lynch as the lead underwriter. Merrill Lynch just happens to be one of Postini’s early customes, so loyalty may have played a part.
Postini’s revenues are rumored to be at around a $75 million run rate, and is “very” profitable.
This is the year that IPOs may make a big comeback. We are tracking a few companies that made it through the downturn, sometimes by resorting to drastic measures to keep the company going, and who are now planning to hit the public markets. Postini will likely not have the $1 billion valuation that Netsuite is looking for, but it is a healthy and profitable company nonetheless.
See the Postini profile here.