Ready For Another DotCom Boom

Posted 2/16/11 : Internet social gaming sites soar in value
 
Interesting company valuation and IPO numbers surfaced in the US media this week as social gaming sites made the headlines in merger talks and general reportage.
 
San Francisco-based Zynga, a generator of internet social games that include a hugely successful poker offering, has been valued at $9 billion amid talks with potential investors last week to raise $250 million.  The valuation represents an astonishing rise of over 100 percent since April, when the company was pegged at $4 billion.
 
Facebook is now worth an impressive $50 billion, based on its latest round of funding from Goldman Sachs, and AOL's $315 million offer to buy the news site Huffington Post caused ripples throughout the online media.
 
The internet radio news company Pandora is planning an initial public offering that has the potential to raise $100 million according to a regulatory filing late Friday, reported by MarketWatch.com. Pandora announced that in spite of mustering $90 million in revenue during a total of nine months ending October 31 last year; it had a net loss of $328,000 in the period. The net loss applicable to common stockholders of the company was $7.1 million, according to the filing.
 
Late January, the business social network LinkedIn filed for an initial public offering looking to raise $175 million, offering the first public glimpse into the finances of the seven-year-old Web company, which turned a profit of $10.1 million on revenue of $161 million in the first nine months of 2010, according to documents filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
In the past the company has raised more than $100 million in venture capital funding from big names including Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), McGraw-Hill, Sequoia Capital, Bain Capital and Greylock Partners.
 
The company isn't hurting for cash: It's currently sitting on a stash of $89.6 million.