SportsLine plans IPO
Internet-based sports media company SportsLine USA announces plans to float an initial public offering.
SportsLine, which signed up underwriters Robertson Stephens, Cowen & Co. and Montgomery Securities, has not yet set a pricing range or a number of shares to be offered.
The company provides branded, interactive information and programming and sells merchandise.
SportsLine generates the bulk of its revenues through advertising, with a smaller portion coming from paid subscriptions for some of its premium services.
The company last year reported revenues of $2.4 million, up from $52,000 the previous year, according to its securities filing. And in the quarter ending March 31, it reported revenues of $1.25 million, compared with $96,000 a year ago.
Meanwhile, it posted a net loss of $12.9 million in 1996, compared with a loss of $5.3 million a year earlier. Its most recent quarter resulted in a $4.75-million net loss, more than double the level of a loss of $2.3 million a year ago.
Last month, the company entered into a strategic alliance with CBS. SportsLine agreed to change its main Web site to include the CBS name in exchange for $57 million in advertising and on-air promotions for the next five years. CBS, meanwhile receives a 22 percent equity stake in SportsLine, with an option to increase the holding up to 33 percent.