Exactis.com Shares Soar from $14 to $30 on 1st Day

Permission-based email marketing and communications company Exactis.com (XACT) completed an initial public offering of 3.8 million shares of common stock at a price of $14 per share.

The stock closed at $24, up 71.5 percent.

Thomas Weisel Partners LLC was the lead manager of the offering. Dain Rauscher Wessels, a division of Dain Rauscher Inc., and Wit Capital served as co-managers. Founded as Mercury Mail in 1995 and then known as InfoBeat, Exactis.com has headquarters in Denver.

Using its patented technology, Exactis.com said it delivers 8 million to 10 million messages a day for clients in online retail, publishing and financial services, and provides a range of email solutions for each target audience.

Clients include Tribune Media Service, The Economist, Sony, MSNBC and Charles Schwab & Co., which use Exactis.com solutions to send news, information, marketing and event-triggered communications by email messages, some of which include banner ads.

Investors in Exactis.com include American Express, Tribune Media Services, The Centennial Funds, Boulder Ventures, Telecom Partners, Softbank and Global Retail Partners.

According to its SEC filing, the company, which has been investing heavily in technology, recorded a net loss of $8 million in 1998 on revenues of $2.8 million.

Revenues for the first nine months of this year were up dramatically at $7.2 million with a loss of $6.3 million so far.