IPO frenzy grips the United States as SEC sees the most 1-day IPO filings (5/16) since the dot com implosion. Among this last month’s IPO hopefuls, one particular company caught my attention – Go Daddy Group Inc. For those that are wondering, it is indeed the company behind Godaddy.com.
Founded in 1997, Go Daddy has combined lucky timing with aggressive marketing campaigns (Go Daddy Superbowl ads) to become the world’s biggest domain registrar. I’ll be the first to admit that Go Daddy seems to be a decently run private company, but going IPO?
Even though the company has demonstrated it can be cash flow positive, Go Daddy ended with (11.5 MM) Net Income for the 2005 fiscal year. Why would a company decide to go IPO on a fiscal year where its net income is negative? Does Robert Parsons, Go Daddy’s CEO, have a grand expansion plan, or is he just trying to keep the boat from sinking?
