By Antone Gonsalves, CRN, January 16, 2012, 1500 hrs
Security vendor AVG Technologies filed for an initial public offering (IPO) that is expected to raise $125 million.
The Amsterdam-based software maker is best known for the free version of its antivirus software, which the company hopes will lead to users upgrading to the premium version. The company targets consumers and small businesses with a portfolio that includes Internet security, PC performance optimization, online backup, mobile security, identity protection and family safety software.
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the company said revenue in 2010 was $217 million, which represented a 38 percent compound annual growth rate since 2008. During the first nine months of last year, revenue reached $198 milion. From 2008 to 2010, net income grew from $33 million to $67 million.
AVG, which says it has 106 million active users, generated almost 31 percent of its 2010 revenue from resellers and distributors. Large retail stores carrying its products include Wal-Mart. "This reseller network forms a part of our brand marketing strategy and generates the majority of our small business sales," the company said.
Underwriters of the IPO were Morgan Stanley & Co., JP Morgan Securities and Goldman Sachs & Co. |