September 20, 2007 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Convio, an Austin, Tex., company that provides Web-based software for nonprofit groups, plans to go public.
The company filed a statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission at the end of August announcing its intention to sell shares of common stock in an initial public offering. The number of shares to be sold and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined.
Last week, the company announced that Sheeraz Haji, who joined the company last February when it merged with GetActive Software, would step down as president in the first quarter of 2008. In an announcement to clients, Mr. Haji said he was “ready to take some time off and eventually pursue a new venture.” He said he would remain a member of Convio’s board.
If the public offering goes through, Convio would become the third software company that serves charities to go public. Kintera, in San Diego, had its initial public offering in December 2003, and Blackbaud, in Charleston, S.C., followed in July 2004.
The document that Convio filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission offered the first glimpse into the privately held company’s finances.
Total revenue at the company has grown from $2.4-million in 2002 to $21.5-million in 2006. Total revenue for the first six months of 2007 was nearly $19-million, a figure that includes revenue from GetActive, a rival company in Berkeley, Calif., that Convio acquired in a February stock deal totaling $17.9-million. While Convio, which says it has more than 1,200 customers, has grown, it has incurred losses in each fiscal quarter since it was founded in 1999. As of June 30, the company’s accumulated deficit totaled $45.8-million.
Convio’s announcement that it intends to go public comes during a period of significant change and consolidation in the nonprofit software industry.
Last month, Blackbaud bought e-Tapestry, a provider of Web-based fund-raising software in Indianapolis, for approximately $24.8-million.
That acquisition came on the heels of its purchase of Target Software and the Target Analysis Group, both in Cambridge, Mass., for roughly $60-million in January, and its purchase of Campagne Associates, in Manchester, N.H., in February 2006 for $6-million.
In March a management shakeup at Kintera forced its founder, Harry E. Gruber, out of his positions as president and chief executive officer of the struggling company.
Tad Druart, a Convio spokesman, said Mr. Haji’s decision to withdraw from the company’s day-to-day operations was not connected to the public offering.
To read Convio’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission: Go to http://sec.freeedgar.com
Suzanne Perry contributed to this article.
