IGN Entertainment Announces Initial Public Offering

Officials from video game website and middleware firm IGN Entertainment have announced that the company has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) of shares of its common stock. The company runs a number of high profile consumer video game and entertainment websites, including IGN.com (home to both game platform-specific content and film, music and sports subsites), GameSpy (allegedly focused on PC content), and the popular demo, mod and patch download website FilePlanet. GameSpy also provides matchmaking and networking middleware for a number of popular PC and console titles from companies including Midway and Microsoft, and its networking technology is enabling Nintendo's DS WiFi service. IGN also recently launched an in-game advertising product, and also offers a voice SDK for in-game play. IGN Entertainment also owns digital game download service Direct2Drive, other game sites including TeamXbox, 3D Gamers, GameStats.com and a number of owned and affiliated web sites within its Planet and Vault networks, plus non-game sites including film website Rotten Tomatoes and AskMen.com. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Lehman Brothers Inc. will act as joint book-running managers of the offering and UBS Securities LLC and Jefferies Broadview, a division of Jefferies & Company, will serve as co-managers. The proposed offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. The number of shares to be sold in the proposed offering and the offering price have not yet been determined. The company's IPO filing reveals "we have experienced losses every year, including a net loss attributable to holders of common stock of $18.9 million in 2004 and $3.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2005. As of March 31, 2005, we had an accumulated deficit of $23.3 million." However, the IPO for IGN Entertainment is expected to amount to as much as $200 million in common stock. The company is to be listed on Nasdaq under the symbol IGNT.