Real Media Cancels IPO, Signs New Clients
Online advertising firm Real Media Inc. has withdrawn its planned initial public offering of more than $78 million.The New York company, which filed Feb. 8 to sell 7.1 million shares at $9 to $11 each, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was withdrawing its offering because of "unfavorable market conditions." The IPO was expected to raise $78.1 million.
Real Media had hoped to list its shares on the Nasdaq under the symbol RLMD.
Separately, the company said it signed an exclusive agreement to represent the 34 Web sites operated by Village Voice Media Inc. and The Ruxton Group.
The Village Voice Media sites are companions to its alternative weekly newspapers, which include the Village Voice in New York, LA Weekly in Los Angeles, Seattle Weekly, OC Weekly in Orange County, CA, and the Cleveland Free Times. The Ruxton Group Web sites are companions to the company's New York Press, Chicago Reader, Detroit Metro Times and Philadelphia Weekly newspapers.
The Web sites will become part of Real Media's America's Interactive Media portfolio, which is comprised of local print and broadcast media in the top 20 markets in the United States. Many of the sites in the AIM portfolio are in the 18-to-35 age group, the company said.
"By combining 34 alternative weekly sites, we are giving advertisers the opportunity to reach a critical mass of young adults in a single media buy," said Brian Quinn, vice president of advertising sales at Real Media.
