SigmaTel files $75 IPO million deal
Chip maker taps Merrill, JP Morgan as underwriters
By Steve Gelsi, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 1:22 PM ET July 7, 2003
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Semiconductor maker SigmaTel has filed to raise up to $75 million in an initial public offering on the heels of a 147 percent increase in first-quarter revenue.
The firm, based in Austin, Texas, rode a surge in portable audio products and posted revenue of $13 million in the first quarter, up from $5.2 million a year earlier. Operating profit was $100,000 in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $2.8 million a year earlier.
SigmaTel rang up a first-quarter net loss of $615,000, compared with a net loss of $3.4 million in the year-ago period.
SigmaTel makes semiconductors for MP3 players and digital set top boxes. It was founded in 1993, and employs about 100 people.
"The increase in revenues from our portable audio systems on a chip was due to the growth of the emerging portable compressed audio player market and our favorable competitive position within that market," the company said in its IPO filing.
The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker "SGTL."
Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan are underwriting the deal, along with CIBC World Markets and Needham & Co.
Creative Technology owns a 31 percent share of the company. Battery Ventures owns about 25 percent and a fund directed by Invesco Private Capital owns about 11 percent.
Ronald P. Edgerton became chairman and chief executive officer in March 2001. He was formerly general manager of Kodak's digital medical imaging business unit, and CFO of Cyrix Corp., which went public under his leadership.
In the portable compressed audio player market, the company competes with Cirrus Logic (CRUS: news, chart, profile), Micronas, Philips Semiconductor (PHG: news, chart, profile), Samsung, and Texas Instruments (TXN: news, chart, profile).
In the audio codec market, it competes with AKM, Analog Devices (ADI: news, chart, profile), C-Media, Cirrus Logic, and Realtek. And within the USB peripherals market, SigmaTel competes with KC Technologies and others.
Steve Gelsi is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in New York
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