Broadcast.com execs file to sell shares
Cofounders Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner file to sell shares for the first time, as the provider of Internet audio and video has soared more than 13-fold since a July initial offering.
Broadcast.com, which agreed on April 1 to be acquired by Yahoo for about $6.08 billion in stock, airs entertainment and news as well as corporate events such as conference calls over the Internet.
Wagner, the company's chief executive, filed to sell 100,000 shares, worth $12.8 million based on today's closing price, according to regulatory filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Cuban, the company's chairman, filed to sell 145,000 shares, worth $18.6 million. Wagner owned 4.92 million shares as of April 1, and Cuban had 9.25 million.
"It represents a very small percentage of their holdings," Broadcast.com spokeswoman Sherry Manno said. "It's just normal activity as part of their personal financial planning."
Cuban and Wagner originally started their company in a spare bedroom in 1995 so they could listen to radio broadcasts of the Indiana Hoosiers college basketball team from Texas.
Dallas-based Broadcast.com now provides online access to 410 radio station and 49 television stations, as well as live and recorded music and audio books. It generates the bulk of its revenue for managing the online broadcasts of corporate events, such as product introductions and speeches.
Many companies view Internet broadcasting as a cheap way to reach a wide audience.
Broadcast.com shares fell .31 to 128.19.
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