TechTarget Confirms Pursuit of IPO

By Matt Kinsman

Needham, Massachusetts-based TechTarget
released a statement to FOLIO:M10ALERT concerning media speculation that the company will seek an initial public offering: "TechTarget has decided to continue on the path of growth as an independent company and to make the appropriate preparations that will enable it to pursue a public offering in 2006."

The statement follows media reports that TechTarget was focused on an IPO after testing the waters for potential buyers earlier this fall, including hiring investment banker UBS. While reports put the price TechTarget was seeking at $300 million, sources have told FOLIO: that the price was closer to $600 million.

TechTarget has implemented a reorganization that puts executive vice president Kevin Beam as head of TechTarget's seven media groups (Storage, Security, Windows, CIO Decisions, Networking, Application Development and Enterprise Applications). Three TechTarget vice presidents;Paul Gillen, vice president and editor-in-chief, John Cox, vice president of sales and Joe Levy, executive vice president and group publisher;have left the company to pursue other opportunities.

Earlier this year, Advanstar Communications
, which had long thought to be grooming itself for an IPO, put itself on the block, possibly lured by the explosion of high dollar b-to-b sales this year. A $600 million sale would have made TechTarget one of the top b-to-b deals of the year along with Hanley Wood's $650 million sale in late May.

TechTarget reported revenue up 51 percent in the first half of 2005 compared to the same period in 2004, while tripling profits. The number of employees has grown to 410 and the company plans to add 100 more in 2006.

Major changes are underway at many of the major tech publishers. 101communications
is up for sale, with a deal likely to close by the end of the year. In September, former COO Steve Weitzner replaced
Gary Marshall as CEO of CMP Media and Ziff Davis quietly continued its push into the gaming front with the acquisition of FileFront.com, a Web site that lets users download free video content, earlier this week.

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