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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowFast-growing local marketing software-maker Aprimo Inc. is shelving its plan to stage a $50 million initial public offering.
Aprimo withdrew its registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in a letter dated April 3.
“As a result of the extended weakness in the equity and new issues markets, the Company has determined that it is not in the best interest of the Company to proceed with the Registration Statement at this time,” Chief Financial Officer Michael Nelson said in the letter.
Nelson did not immediately respond to an IBJ telephone inquiry for comment. Neither did Aprimo CEO William Godfrey.
But angel investor Bob Compton, who provided early financial backing for the company, said Wall Street’s general anxiety likely was the reason Aprimo rescinded its IPO plan.
Compton noted that, as an investor, he is not privy to inside information about management decisions.
“Right now, with the meltdown of the subprime market and Bear Stearns nearly failing, it is a time of uncertainty on Wall Street. You want to go public in the best market possible,” Compton said.
“Aprimo is doing great. They don’t need the cash. They’re growing,” Compton continued. “My assumption is they made the decision … to wait for a market that’s more receptive to their stock offering. It’s as simple as that.”
Aprimo filed its IPO plans Sept. 10 and amended them Nov. 2. Underwriters for the offering included Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. and Thomas Weisel Partners LLC.
Compton predicted Aprimo eventually will stage an IPO, once markets improve.
“I am very confident Aprimo will be a public company, and one that we’ll be very proud of in Indianapolis, at some point in the future,” he said. “What I can’t predict is the stock market. I wish I could.”
Another locally based software company is moving forward with its IPO plans. ExactTarget Inc., a maker of software that helps clients create, target and deliver permission-based e-mails, rolled out plans in December to raise $86 million. It updated those plans in a filing with the SEC on April 4.
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