It appears that the multitude of markets is making us ignorant. Even tiny unprofitable tech companies are trying to take advantage of the fervor in the (public) equity markets.
Voltaire, a networking equipment company based in Herzeliya, Israel and Billerica, MA, filed for an IPO in which the company expects to raise $67.5 million. Voltaire hopes that when it is a question of money, everybody is of the same religion, and that investors will overlook the fact that net losses are ramping up faster than revenue and that the company is based in Israel (is that a legitimate discountable risk these days?). Voltaire dismisses this criticism, commenting that “investors always speak badly when they have nothing to say.”
Voltaire does worry that “the longer analysts dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us,” but has confidence that common sense is not so common, and that investors will overlook any operational red flags and buy in to the IPO. The company plans to sell 5.77 million shares at a target price of $12 to $14 per share and trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker “VOLT.”
Voltaire is candide about the risks it faces in the future, and of the illusory, often metaphysical nature of most company reporting. The company adds as a risk factor in its S-1, “everything’s fine today, that is our illusion,” knowing that it is not enough to conquer the networking equipment market, one must also know how to seduce it.
Voltaire insists that is not responsible for perpetuating any sort Web 2.0 bubble but also muses that no snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible. Since business is the salt of life, Voltaire enters the public markets making but one prayer to God, a very short one: “O Lord, make my shareholders ridiculous.” We will see if he grants it.
InfiniBand backer files for IPO [CNET via DealBook]
Posted by Zbignew, Jul 11, 2007 11:02AM
I see someone is getting his money's worth out of his undergraduate liberal arts degree.