Oft-maligned content giant and eHow.com operator Demand Media is about ready to go public in a share offering that could raise $138 million for the company, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission via Kara Swisher at All Things Digital.
The prospectus values the company at $1.24 billion, offering a potential boon to early investors, which include Goldman Sachs, 3i Group, Generation Partners, Oak Investment Partners and Spectrum Equity.
The company is registering 8.6 million shares, 4.5 million of which will be sold by the company and 3 million of which will be sold by investors. Underwriters have the option to sell the remaining 1.1 million. Demand has named a proposed maximum offering price of $16 per share, and shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol DMD.
The company, which offers tips on how to shovel snow and how to cook chicken on a stove, among other things, has previously run into regulatory hurdles because it recognizes its costs in a different manner from those of other publishing firms. The SEC has now apparently approved the company’s accounting methods. Separately, its editorial methods regularly raise eyebrows, if not outright indignation, among media types.
Goldman and Morgan Stanley are underwriting the deal.
mtaylor [at] observer.com | @mbrookstaylor
