HomeGrocer

HomeGrocer.com (Nasdaq: HOMG) priced shares at X for a "me too" offering that will pit the online grocer against San Francisco-based competitor WebVan (Nasdaq: WBVN)

HomeGrocer.com had planned to offer its 22 million shares in a range of $10 to $12 a share.

The deal could give HomeGrocer.com a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, about one-third that of WebVan. WebVan's stock has slipped from its 52-week high of $34 a share to X.

The market isn't ready for another "dotcom" grocer, said David Menlow of IPOfinancial.com. "The market will take it, but it won't reward investors in the stock," he said. "It doesn't have a viable platform for sustained growth."

HomeGrocer.com had a net loss of $7.9 million for the fiscal year ended January 2, 1999 and $84.0 million for 2000. Start-up expenses for the customer fulfillment centers it plans to open over the next few years will sustain losses and negative operating cash flow for the foreseeable future, the company said.

Net sales for 1999 were $21.6 million, as opposed to $1.1 million in 1998.

Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN), the company's largest shareholder, will market its service under an advertising agreement. HomeGrocer.com also has a deal with America Online (NYSE: AOL) under which its services will be prominently featured on the AOL sites in exchange for about $60 million over the next 5 years.>