The streak of disappointing Internet IPO’s continues to make tech companies think twice about going public. You can now add LivingSocial to the list of cautious companies.
LivingSocial CEO Tim O’Shaugnessy told a group of journalists yesterday that he has no plans to go public.
”I don’t talk about it in any significant way,” said O’Shaugnessy. “If the pros outweigh the cons, we would do it.”
The disappointing performances of recent tech IPO’s likely played a role in O’Shaugnessy’s decision. LivingSocial was expected to follow Groupon in going public after their deal site competitor went public in November.
Groupon however is reeling from a disappointing public offering, currently trading at about half of its $20 IPO price.
LivingSocial lost $558 million last year and is still looking for ways to diversify their offerings. The company currently makes 75 percent of their revenue through daily deals but hopes knock that umber down to 50 through future services. They also currently employ about 5,000 workers.
Despite the losses the Washington D.C. based company says they do not need the financial bump that comes with going public. LivingSocial has raised about $600 million in venture capital and Amazon has a 29 percent ownership in the deal site. Chief financial officer John Bax said the public offering was not necessary with “the way we have the business configured today.”
LivingSocial cites that they trail behind Groupon in the daily deal market with 26 percent to their competitors 61 but they also said that smaller companies are leaving the market. Bax added that his optimistic about the business and the company is not looking to be an acquisition.
“This is a healthy business, this is a healthy industry,” Bax said during the media event.
