As part of the IPO, the company will use shares to buy WinZip Computing, the maker of the popular Windows file compression software, which is owned by the same boutique private equity company.
The firm is seeking listings on the Toronto and Nasdaq stock exchanges, according to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday.
Corel will offer eight million shares for between $18 and $20 each, and will have a market capitalization after the float of $441m to $490m.
Almost three million of the shares will be sold by Vector Capital, the San Francisco-based private equity firm that acquired the flagging software maker for $96m three years ago. Vector’s stake will drop from 97.4% to 66%.
As part of the deal, Corel will be merged with WinZip, which Vector acquire last July for an undisclosed sum. Corel makes the WordPerfect word processor, as well as a selection of graphics software.
The company recorded a loss for its fiscal year to November of $8.75m, on revenue of $164m, up almost 48% of the year, but it saw an operating profit of $16.8m. It estimates it earned $5.7m on sales of $44.3m for its most recent quarter.
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