RUMOR MILL
Thursday, June 8, 2000
HOB KO’S IPO ASAP
Market Volatility Causes House Of Blues To Back Away From Public Offering
HOB Entertainment, the Hollywood-based owner of the House of Blues clubs and other music venues, on Wednesday joined the herd of companies that have abandoned their initial public offerings recently due to market volatility.
The company filed in March to raise as much as $100 million through the sale of an undisclosed amount of shares to the public. On Wednesday, HOB asked securities regulators for permission to withdraw the offering.
"Due to uncertain market conditions, (HOB) does not intend to conduct the offering of shares of its common stock ... at this time," the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
HOB officials declined to comment further on the move.
In its initial filing, the company outlined its plan to build a multimedia distribution powerhouse that offers live pay-per-view shows via the Internet. In May, its Internet arm, HOB.com, began offering pay-per-view downloads of performances from its archives.
The company filed in March to raise as much as $100 million through the sale of an undisclosed amount of shares to the public. On Wednesday, HOB asked securities regulators for permission to withdraw the offering.
"Due to uncertain market conditions, (HOB) does not intend to conduct the offering of shares of its common stock ... at this time," the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
HOB officials declined to comment further on the move.
In its initial filing, the company outlined its plan to build a multimedia distribution powerhouse that offers live pay-per-view shows via the Internet. In May, its Internet arm, HOB.com, began offering pay-per-view downloads of performances from its archives.
