Web caching software firm, Akamai Technologies Inc raised $234m from an initial public offering of its shares on Friday, then watched the market value the loss-making firm higher than Apple Computer Inc as investors bid the share price up by more than 458%.
Stock in the Cambridge Massachusetts-based firm closed on the Nasdaq stock market at a price of $145.18 from a start price of $26. The opening price was upgraded from an original range of $16-$118 on expectations of strong investor demand. The firm sold 10 % of its 90.4 million outstanding shares in the offering.
Akamai’s flagship FreeFlow product speeds content delivery on the internet by linking 1.475 servers in 24 countries through 55 telecommunications networks. The company handles content for portal, Yahoo! Inc and also holds a contract with Apple Computer. Akamai, started up in August 1998, lost $28.3m before paying deferred stock dividends in the nine months to September 30, on revenue of $1.29m. Microsoft Corp has said it will take an approximate 1% stake in the firm for $15m.
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