Online Auctioneer Files For $86.3 Million IPO

[mandy]

Liquidity Services Inc., a District company that runs online auction sites for surplus goods from women's shoes to military planes, filed Friday to raise $86.3 million in an initial public offering.

The six-year-old company carved a niche in the growing Internet auction market by winning a contract that gives it exclusive rights to the Defense Defense's surplus property. Among the items available for bidding yesterday at http://www.govliquidation.com , the company's military auction site, were a 120-foot work barge, 55 steel-pot troop helmets and a set of six handheld radios.

full article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...technology

[mandy]

Update:

Liquidity Services does a good business selling scrap and surplus items, but its planned initial public offering isn't a long-term hold...

Liquidity's number of completed transactions grew to about 173,000 in 2005 from 92,000 in 2002. The company says it plans to develop new or complementary services but anticipates nothing that would require significant capital investment. This raises two basic questions: First, where's the strong growth IPO investors crave? Second, can a small company keep up with its larger rivals' technological upgrades and innovation?...

Liquidity Services has been profitable since the fourth quarter of 2002...

For the year ended Sept. 30, Liquidity Services reported net income of $4.1 million on revenue of $89.4 million ...

full article: http://www.forbes.com/strategies/2006/02...artner=rss