Will Brightcove Be A Hit IPO? (BCOV)

Brightcove Inc. is among the latest of internet properties to file for an initial public offering.  Terms and conditions were not set, but the filing is for up to $50 million in common stock and the filing shows that Brightcove will list under the ticker “BCOV” on NASDAQ.

The bookrunners for the offering are Morgan Stanley and Stifel Nicoalus Weisel; co-managers are listed as RBC, Pacific Crest, and Raymond James.

After going through the SEC filing, it shows that venture capital backers are Accel Partners and General Catalyst Partners. Where this offering gets interesting is that PEHub noted that Brightcove has raised more than $100 million in venture capital to date.

Brightcove offers cloud-based solutions for publishing and distributing professional digital media. The company has the Brightcove Video Cloud as its flagship product since 2006 and it is said to be “the world’s leading online video platform.” As of June 30, 2011, the company claimed to have 3,295 customers in over 50 countries, including many of the world’s leading media, retail, technology, financial services companies, governments, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations.  Some flagship customers are listed as The New York Times Company, Oracle, Showtime, Philips Electronics, Macy’s, Bank of America, the U.S. Army and Honda.

The company also recently released the Brightcove App Cloud and expect its first commercial sale in the second half of 2011. The App Cloud is a software application development and management platform designed to help customers publish and distribute video and other professional digital media through software applications across multiple Internet-connected devices.

Sales are generated by selling products to customers on a subscription-based, software as a service model.  All revenues to date have been attributable to the Video Cloud product. The following stats are available:

• Revenue grew from $24.5 million in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 to $43.7 million in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010;
• The number of customers using its products grew from 549 as of December 31, 2008 to 2,469 as of December 31, 2010;
• Revenue was $20.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2010, compared to $28.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011.
• Consolidated net loss was $17.8 million in 2010 and $9.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011.

On key warning does exist here for investors seeking ‘high quality” IPOs”: “We expect to continue to invest in the growth of our business and operations and to incur operating losses on an annual basis through at least the end of 2012.”

Here are some of the non-ordinary risks that the company disclosed:

• “We have a history of losses, we expect to continue to incur losses and we may not achieve or sustain profitability in the future.”
• “If customer demand for our services does not meet expectations, our ability to generate revenue and meet our financial targets could be adversely affected.”
• “Our long-term success depends, in part, on our ability to expand the sales of our products to customers located outside of the United States, and thus our business is susceptible to risks associated with international sales and operations.”
• “If we are unable to retain our existing customers, our revenue and results of operations will be adversely affected.”
• “Our business and operations have experienced rapid growth and organizational change in recent periods, which has placed, and may continue to place, significant demands on our management and infrastructure. If we fail to manage our growth effectively and successfully recruit additional highly-qualified employees, we may be unable to execute our business plan, maintain high levels of service or address competitive challenges adequately.”

The share structure does not look overly complicated here.  The number of shares of common stock to be outstanding after the IPO is based on 54,965,387 shares of common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2011.  This share count excludes the following: 11,127,023 shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding as of June 30, 2011 with a weighted-average exercise price of $1.37 per share; another 121,456 shares issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2011 with a weighted-average exercise price of $1.235 per share; and another 620,032 shares reserved for future issuance under the equity incentive plans as of June 30, 2011.

The company was originally incorporated in Delaware in August 2004 as Video Marketplace, Inc., and it changed the name to Brightcove Inc. in March 2005.

Brightcove’s full SEC Filing is here.

JON C. OGG