Prepaid Debit Card Provider NetSpend Files IPO For Up To $200M
Dow Jones Newswires - July 15, 2010
By John Kell
NetSpend Holdings Inc. filed plans to sell up to an estimated $200 million in an initial public offering, saying it intends to use a portion of the proceeds to repay debt.
According to the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filing, it intends to use the remaining proceeds for general corporate purposes, including to fund working capital.
NetSpend provides reloadable prepaid debit cards, or GPR cards, and related alternative financial services in the U.S. The cards allow consumers to make purchases and pay bills and without the need for a bank account or credit history. Founded in 1999, the company targets the 60 million U.S. citizens who lack or choose not to have a traditional bank account.
The company said it had about 2.1 million active cards. For the 12 months ended March 31, the gross dollar volume of debit transactions and cash withdrawals were $8.3 billion.
NetSpend, which applied to list its shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, reported its first-quarter profit grew 29% as revenue climbed 27% to $69.5 million.
The U.S. IPO market has been rocky of late, leading many companies to cut their prices or delay their offerings. Still, filings have remained relatively steady.
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