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As Of Filer Filing As/For/On Docs:Pgs Issuer Agent 8/04/04 Matchnet/Inc S-1 17:368 950148
Document/Exhibit Description Pages Size
1: S-1 Registration Statement (General Form) HTML 1,441K
2: EX-10.1 Lease Dated September 1, 2000 - 8383 Wilshire 43 233K
Blvd.Ers Ltd
3: EX-10.1(A) First Amendment to Lease Dated September 5, 2000 2 15K
4: EX-10.1(B) Second Amendment to Lease Dated January 16, 2003 8 32K
5: EX-10.1(C) Third Amendment to Lease Dated October 30, 2003 4 22K
6: EX-10.1(D) Fourth Amendment to Lease Dated May 14, 2004 4 21K
7: EX-10.4 Asset Purchase Agreement Dated November 27, 2003 31 118K
8: EX-10.5 Asset Purchase Agreement Dated November 27, 2003 64 170K
9: EX-10.5(A) First Amendment to Asset Purchase Agreement 5 21K
10: EX-10.9 Material Contract 3 20K
11: EX-10.10 Material Contract 3 15K
12: EX-10.11 Material Contract 3 20K
13: EX-10.12 Material Contract 3 21K
14: EX-10.13 Executive Employment Agreement - Steven Cramer 6 32K
15: EX-16.1 Letter Re: Change in Certifying Accountant 2± 14K
16: EX-23.1 Consent of Ernst & Young 1 7K
17: EX-23.2 Consent of Ziv Haft 1 7K
|
| MatchNet, Inc. |
Form S-1
MatchNet, Inc.
| Delaware | 7375 | 14-1910305 | ||
|
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
8383 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 800
Copies to:
|
Thomas J. Poletti, Esq. Katherine J. Blair, Esq. Ted Weitzman, Esq. Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP 10100 Santa Monica Boulevard, 7th Floor Los Angeles, California 90067 Telephone: (310) 552-5000 Fax: (310) 552-5001 |
Mark Stegemoeller, Esq. Edward Sonnenschein, Jr., Esq. Gregory M. Pettigrew, Esq. Latham & Watkins LLP 633 West Fifth Street, Suite 4000 Los Angeles, California 90071 Telephone: (213) 485-1234 Fax: (213) 891-8763 |
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Registration Statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, please check following box: o
If this form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering: o
If this form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act of 1933, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering: o
If this form is a post effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act of 1933, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earliest effective registration statement for the same offering: o
If delivery of the prospectus is expected to be made pursuant to Rule 434 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box: o
Calculation of Registration Fee
| Title of Each Class of | Proposed Maximum | Amount of | ||
| Securities to be Registered | Aggregate Offering Price(1)(2) | Registration Fee | ||
|
Common stock, par value $.001 per share
|
$100,000,000 | $12,670 | ||
| (1) | Includes shares which the underwriters have the option to purchase to cover over-allotments, if any. |
| (2) | Estimated solely for purposes of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. |
The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
|
The information in this
prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell
these securities until the registration statement relating to
these securities that has been filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an
offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer
to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is
not permitted. |
Subject to completion, dated August 4, 2004
Preliminary Prospectus
shares
Common stock
This is the initial public offering of shares of common stock by MatchNet, Inc. MatchNet is selling shares of common stock, and the selling stockholders identified in this prospectus are selling an additional shares. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the shares by the selling stockholders. The estimated initial public offering price is between $ and $ per share.
We intend to apply for quotation of our common stock on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol “ .”
| Per share | Total | |||||||
|
Initial offering price
|
$ | $ | ||||||
|
Underwriting discounts and commissions
|
$ | $ | ||||||
|
Proceeds to MatchNet, before expenses
|
$ | $ | ||||||
|
Proceeds to selling stockholders, before expenses
|
$ | $ | ||||||
MatchNet has granted the underwriters an option for a period of 30 days to purchase up to additional shares of common stock.
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk factors” beginning on page 6.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
JPMorgan
| Piper Jaffray |
| CIBC World Markets |
| Pacific Crest Securities |
, 2004
You should rely only on information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information. We are not making an offer of these securities in any state where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.
i
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY
You should read the following summary together with the entire prospectus, including the more detailed information in our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing in the back of this prospectus. You should carefully consider, among other things, the matters discussed in “Risk Factors.” Throughout this prospectus, we refer to MatchNet, Inc., a Delaware corporation, its subsidiary MatchNet plc, an English company, and its subsidiaries as “we,” “us,” “our,” “our company” and “MatchNet” unless otherwise indicated. The exercise prices of all stock options and warrants noted in this prospectus are presented on an as converted basis into U.S. dollars at a currency translation rate of $1.2085 U.S. per €1.0 as of June 30, 2004. Except as otherwise noted in this prospectus, any reference to the number of shares of our common stock outstanding prior to this offering assumes the completion of an English Scheme of Arrangement pursuant to which the shares of MatchNet plc will be cancelled and MatchNet plc will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of MatchNet, Inc. MatchNet, JDate and AmericanSingles are our registered trademarks. Trade names, trademarks and service marks of other companies appearing in this prospectus are the property of the respective holders.
Our Business
We are a leading provider of online personals services in the United States and internationally. We enable adults to meet online and participate in a community, become friends, date, form a long-term relationship or marry. In the first six months of 2004 we averaged approximately 5.3 million unique monthly visitors to our Web sites, which, according to comScore Media Metrix, ranked us as the second largest online personals property among United States Internet users. Currently, our key Web sites are AmericanSingles and JDate. Membership on our sites is free and allows a registered user to post a personal profile and to access our searchable database of member profiles and our 24/7 customer service. The ability to communicate with other members requires a monthly subscription fee, which represents our primary source of revenue.
We believe that online personals fulfill significant needs for America’s 86 million single adults who are looking to meet a companion or date. Traditional methods such as printed personals advertisements, offline dating services and public social gathering places often do not meet the needs of time-constrained single people. Printed personals advertisements offer individuals limited personal information and interaction before meeting. Dating services are time-consuming, expensive and offer a smaller number of potential partners. In contrast, online personals services facilitate interactions between singles by allowing them to screen and communicate with a large number of potential companions. This medium allows users to communicate with other singles at their convenience and affords them the ability to virtually meet multiple people in a safe and secure setting. Moreover, online personals services allow people to learn considerably more about someone prior to an in-person meeting, through detailed personal profiles, emails and instant messaging.
As of June 30, 2004, we had approximately 9.8 million active members, which we define as members who have posted a personal profile or have logged on to any of our Web sites at least once in the last 12 months, and approximately 235,000 paying subscribers, representing increases of 38% and 88%, respectively, from June 30, 2003.
We intend to grow our business in the following ways:
| • | Increase our base of members in the United States and internationally by integrated and targeted marketing and by geographic and niche market expansion; | |
| • | Increase the number and percentage of our members who become paying subscribers by offering improved matching technology and communications features and by leveraging our strong customer service; and | |
| • | Add revenue opportunities through online advertising on our Web sites. |
We believe that one of our key opportunities lies in our ability to significantly enhance our primary brand. To address this we intend to launch a rebranding campaign designed to heighten our brand recognition and attract additional active members and subscribers. We intend to change our name, establish the new company name as our primary consumer brand and consolidate our online personals services, except for JDate, under this umbrella brand name. We intend to spend a portion of the proceeds of this offering to institute a marketing program designed to further effectuate this rebranding effort.
1
The English Scheme of Arrangement
Prior to the closing of this offering, MatchNet plc’s global depository shares traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. As of June 30, 2004, MatchNet plc had 15,327,694 global depository shares and 7,742,748 ordinary shares outstanding. Immediately prior to the closing of this offering and further to the provisions of applicable English law, MatchNet plc will effect the terms of a Scheme of Arrangement, which is known in this prospectus as the “English Scheme of Arrangement,” whereby all of the ordinary shares and global depository shares of MatchNet plc will be cancelled and all holders of ordinary shares and global depository shares in MatchNet plc will become stockholders of MatchNet, Inc. in the same proportion in which they owned MatchNet plc immediately prior to this offering. In addition, all stock options and warrants of MatchNet plc will be cancelled and all holders of stock options and warrants in MatchNet plc will become stock option and warrant holders of MatchNet, Inc. on identical terms to their stock option and warrant holdings in MatchNet plc. We have received verbal assurances from representatives of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange that the Frankfurt Stock Exchange intends to exercise discretionary authority to suspend trading of the global depository shares of MatchNet plc on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange between the effective date of this offering, when our common stock will commence trading on the Nasdaq National Market, and the closing date of this offering. This verbal assurance has been given on a number of conditions, including that verification of the effectiveness of this offering be submitted in a timely manner to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. However, in the event that the Frankfurt Stock Exchange fails to exercise this discretionary authority, the global depository shares of MatchNet plc will continue to trade on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange between the effective date and the closing date of this offering. Immediately after the closing of this offering, the global depository shares will be delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. MatchNet, Inc. has not commenced operations and has no assets or liabilities. Pursuant to the English Scheme of Arrangement, MatchNet plc will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of MatchNet, Inc., a Delaware corporation.
We were incorporated in Delaware in June 2004 as MatchNet, Inc. and intend to change our name. MatchNet plc, which will become our wholly-owned subsidiary pursuant to the English Scheme of Arrangement, was organized in September 1998 under the laws of England as a public limited company. Our principal executive offices are located at 8383 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 800, Beverly Hills, California 90211. Our telephone number at that location is (323) 836-3000. Our Web site address is www.matchnet.com. This is a textual reference only. We do not incorporate the information on our Web site into this prospectus, and you should not consider any information on, or that can be accessed through, our Web site as part of this prospectus.
2
The Offering
| Common stock offered by MatchNet | shares | |
| Common stock offered by the selling stockholders | shares | |
| Common stock to be outstanding after the offering | shares | |
| Use of proceeds | We intend to use the net proceeds of this offering to expand our marketing efforts and for general corporate purposes, including working capital and capital expenditures, and potential investments and acquisitions. We will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of common stock by the selling stockholders. See “Use of Proceeds.” | |
|
Proposed Nasdaq National Market symbol |
The number of shares of our common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering is based on shares of common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2004. This information excludes:
| • | 8,942,587 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding stock options as of June 30, 2004, with exercise prices ranging from $.89 to $10.19 per share and a weighted average exercise price of $2.86 per share; | |
| • | 1,138,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2004, with exercise prices ranging from $1.05 to $2.50 per share and a weighted average exercise price of $2.35 per share; and | |
| • | 5,000,000 shares of common stock available for issuance under our 2004 Stock Incentive Plan. |
Except as otherwise indicated in this prospectus, the number of shares of common stock to be outstanding after the offering assumes the following:
| • | the underwriters’ over-allotment option will not be exercised to purchase additional shares in this offering; and | |
| • | the completion of the English Scheme of Arrangement. See “—The English Scheme of Arrangement.” |
3
Summary Consolidated Financial Data
The following tables summarize consolidated financial data regarding our business and should be read together with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” “Pro Forma Combined Financial Data” and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.
| Six Months | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Year Ended December 31, | Ended June 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2003 | 2004 | |||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except per share data) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Consolidated Statements of Operations
Data:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net revenues
|
$ | 10,434 | $ | 16,352 | $ | 36,941 | $ | 15,459 | $ | 30,862 | |||||||||||
|
Operating expenses:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
Marketing
|
2,586 | 5,799 | 19,333 | 8,326 | 17,080 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Customer service
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641 | 1,207 | 2,536 | 1,021 | 1,878 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Technical operations
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1,772 | 1,587 | 4,341 | 1,813 | 3,318 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Product development
|
357 | 603 | 928 | 397 | 706 | ||||||||||||||||
|
General and administrative (excluding stock-based
compensation)
|
5,496 | 7,996 | 16,885 | 5,111 | 12,078 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Amortization of goodwill and intangible assets
|
2,137 | 524 | 555 | 189 | 482 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Stock-based compensation
|
— | — | 1,871 | — | 2,401 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill
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3,997 | — | 1,532 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||
|
Total operating expenses
|
16,986 | 17,716 | 47,981 | 16,857 | 37,943 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Operating loss
|
(6,552 | ) | (1,364 | ) | (11,040 | ) | (1,398 | ) | (7,081 | ) | |||||||||||
|
Interest (income) and other expenses, net
|
1,627 | (840 | ) | (188 | ) | (110 | ) | 32 | |||||||||||||
|
Loss before income taxes
|
(8,179 | ) | (524 | ) | (10,852 | ) | (1,288 | ) | (7,113 | ) | |||||||||||
|
Provision for income taxes
|
— | — | — | 40 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Net loss
|
$ | (8,179 | ) | $ | (524 | ) | $ | (10,852 | ) | $ | (1,328 | ) | $ | (7,114 | ) | ||||||
|
Net loss per share—basic and diluted (1)
|
$ | (0.47 | ) | $ | (0.03 | ) | $ | (0.57 | ) | $ | (0.07 | ) | $ | (0.33 | ) | ||||||
|
Weighted average shares outstanding—basic
and diluted (1)
|
17,460 | 18,460 | 18,970 | 18,722 | 21,521 | ||||||||||||||||
| June 30, 2004 | ||||||||||||
| December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2003 | Actual | As Adjusted (2) | ||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
|
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:
|
||||||||||||
|
Cash and marketable securities
|
$ | 5,815 | $ | 9,492 | $ | |||||||
|
Total assets
|
17,089 | 28,616 | ||||||||||
|
Deferred revenue
|
3,232 | 3,937 | ||||||||||
|
Capital lease obligation
|
487 | 333 | ||||||||||
|
Total liabilities
|
11,659 | 15,204 | ||||||||||
|
Accumulated deficit
|
(32,008 | ) | (39,122 | ) | ||||||||
|
Total shareholders’ equity
|
5,430 | 13,412 | ||||||||||
4
| December 31, | June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2003 | 2004 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Business Metrics (3):
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Active members (4)
|
4,100,000 | 5,900,000 | 9,500,000 | 7,100,000 | 9,800,000 | |||||||||||||||
|
Subscribers
|
45,000 | 80,000 | 190,000 | 125,000 | 235,000 | |||||||||||||||
|
Average revenue per subscriber (5)
|
$ | 134 | $ | 102 | $ | 85 | $ | 84 | $ | 74 | ||||||||||
|
Subscriber churn (6)
|
20 | % | 20 | % | 26 | % | 29 | % | 32 | % | ||||||||||
|
Average subscriber acquisition cost (7)
|
$ | 22 | $ | 30 | $ | 36 | $ | 37 | $ | 37 | ||||||||||
| (1) | For information regarding the computation of per share amounts, refer to note 1 of the notes to our consolidated financial statements. | |
| (2) | As adjusted balance sheet data reflect our sale of shares in this offering and the receipt of the estimated net proceeds from this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $ per share, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. | |
| (3) | All business metrics are full period, except active members and subscribers, which are as of period end. | |
| (4) | Represents individuals who posted a personal profile or logged on to one of our Web sites at least once in the 12 months preceding the period end date. | |
| (5) | Represents the inverse of subscriber churn, calculated as described in note (6) below, multiplied by the average monthly subscription price. | |
| (6) | Subscriber churn represents a ratio, expressed as a percentage, of (i) subscriber cancellations in the period divided by the average of the subscribers at the beginning and end of the period and (ii) the number of months in the period. Subscriber cancellations represents the sum of subscribers at the beginning of the period and subscribers added during the period less subscribers at the end of the period. | |
| (7) | Represents marketing expense divided by the gross number of subscribers added during the period. |
5
RISK FACTORS
You should carefully consider the risks described below together with all of the other information included in this prospectus and the related registration statement before making an investment decision. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks and uncertainties that we are unaware of, or that we currently deem immaterial, also may become important factors that adversely affect us. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In that case, the trading price of our common stock would decline and you may lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Business
Our limited operating history and relatively new business model in an emerging and rapidly evolving market makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects.
MatchNet plc commenced operations in September 1998 and we have only a short operating history with our subscription-based business model. As a result, we have very little operating history for you to evaluate in assessing our future prospects. Also, we derive nearly all of our net revenues from online subscription fees, which is an early-stage business model that has undergone rapid and dramatic changes. You must consider our business and prospects in light of the risks and difficulties we will encounter as an early-stage company in a new and rapidly evolving market. We may not be able to successfully assess or address these risks and difficulties, which could materially harm our business and operating results.
We have significant operating losses.
We have historically generated significant operating losses. As of June 30, 2004, we had an accumulated deficit of approximately $39.1 million. We had a net loss of approximately $7.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2004 and approximately $10.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2003. We anticipate an operating loss for the year ending December 31, 2004, for at least the first two quarters of 2005 and possibly for the year ending December 31, 2005. We expect that our operating expenses will continue to materially increase during the next several years as a result of the rebranding of our company, the promotion of our services, the hiring of additional key personnel, the expansion of our operations, including the launch of new Web sites, and entering into strategic alliances and joint ventures. If our revenues do not grow at a substantially faster rate than these expected increases in our expenses or if our operating expenses are higher than we anticipate, we may not be profitable and we may incur additional losses, which could be significant.
Our ability to generate positive cash flow and operating profits as a relatively new company in a new and evolving business will depend upon a number of factors that are difficult to predict, including factors such as:
| • | continued acceptance of online personals services; | |
| • | our ability to create and increase brand awareness and attract and retain a large number of members and subscribers, including our ability to convert members into paying subscribers; | |
| • | level of usage of the Internet and traffic to our Web sites; | |
| • | our ability to maintain current, and develop new, relationships with portals, search engines, ISPs and other Web properties and entities capable of attracting individuals who might subscribe to our fee-generating services; | |
| • | our ability to implement our expansion plans or integrate newly acquired companies, including controlling the costs associated with such expansion or acquisitions; | |
| • | our ability to control costs related to general infrastructure including the amount and timing of operating and capital expenditures; | |
| • | our ability to introduce new Web sites, features and functionality on a timely basis; |
6
| • | our ability to scale technological and other infrastructure across our various Web sites; | |
| • | our ability to protect our data from loss or electronic or magnetic corruption; | |
| • | providing for failover and disaster recovery programs; | |
| • | our ability to upgrade our technologies and protect our sites from technology failures, which could cause revenue loss and allow affiliates to terminate their contracts with us; | |
| • | our ability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel; | |
| • | our ability to expand and compete internationally; | |
| • | introduction of new products or services by our competitors; and | |
| • | our ability to anticipate and adapt to the changing Internet business and any changes in government regulation. |
Our business depends on strong brands and if we are not able to maintain and enhance our brands, or if we are not successful in our rebranding efforts, our business and operating results would be harmed.
We believe that establishing and maintaining our brands is critical to our efforts to attract and expand our membership and subscriber base. We believe that the importance of brand recognition will continue to increase, given the growing number of Internet sites and the low barriers to entry for companies offering online personals services. We intend to change our name and consolidate our online dating properties, with the exception of JDate, under the new company umbrella brand name. To attract and retain members and subscribers, and to promote and maintain our brands in response to competitive pressures, we intend to substantially increase our financial commitment to creating and maintaining distinct brand loyalty among these groups. We intend to use a portion of the proceeds of this offering to institute a marketing program designed to heighten our brand recognition, including our rebranding efforts, and attract additional members and subscribers. The impact of the change of our name and rebranding efforts cannot be fully predicted. The lack of an established brand image for the new company name and the possibility that our strategy to create a recognizable and well known brand may not succeed may materially and adversely affect our business. If we do not generate a corresponding increase in revenues as a result of our rebranding and continuing branding efforts or otherwise fail to successfully promote our new and existing brands, or if we incur excessive expenses in our rebranding efforts and in our attempt to promote and maintain our new and existing brands, we will continue to incur losses, which may increase, and the value of our common stock could decline. If visitors, members and subscribers to our Web sites, and affiliate and distribution partners do not perceive our existing services to be of high quality, or if we introduce new services or enter into new business ventures that are not favorably received by such parties, the value of our brands could be diluted, thereby decreasing the attractiveness of our Web sites to such parties.
As part of our rebranding efforts, we intend to spend substantial advertising dollars in offline media such as television, radio and print. Our company has no significant experience in offline advertising and we cannot assure you that these efforts will be successful. In addition, should these offline methods become more costly than currently anticipated, our profitability will be adversely affected.
If our efforts to attract a large number of members, convert members into paying subscribers and retain our paying subscribers are not successful, our revenues and operating results would suffer.
Our future growth depends on our ability to attract a large number of members, convert members into paying subscribers and retain our paying subscribers. This in turn depends on our ability to deliver a high-quality online personals experience to these members and subscribers. Our competitors are developing highly targeted content as well as innovations in technology, online advertising and providing information. As a result, we must continue to invest significant resources in order to enhance our existing products and services and introduce new high-quality products and services that people will use. If we are unable to predict user preferences or industry changes, or if we are unable to modify our products and services on a timely basis, we may lose existing subscribers and may fail to attract new subscribers. Our operating results would also suffer if our innovations are not responsive to the needs of our subscribers or are not brought to market in an effective or timely manner.
7
Our subscriber acquisition costs vary depending upon prevailing market conditions and may increase significantly in the future.
Our subscriber acquisition costs are dependent in part upon our ability to purchase advertising at a reasonable cost. Our advertising costs vary over time, depending upon a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control. Historically, we have used online advertising as the primary means of marketing our services. In general, the costs of online advertising have recently increased substantially and these costs are expected to continue to increase as long as the demand for online advertising remains robust. Commencing in late 2004 or early 2005, we expect to expand to offline advertising such as television, radio and print, which may be more expensive and which will initially increase our subscriber acquisition costs. As we initiate these additional marketing efforts to build offline brand recognition, we expect there will be a significant lag between the time we incur the offline advertising expense and the receipt of revenues resulting from this advertising spend. As a result, we expect that our subscriber acquisition costs will be higher in the initial stages of our offline advertising efforts. If we are not able to reduce our other operating costs, increase our subscriber base or increase revenue per subscriber to offset these anticipated increases, our profitability will be adversely affected.
We must keep pace with rapid technological change to remain competitive; our services are not well-suited to many alternate Web access devices.
We operate in a market characterized by rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards, frequent new product and service announcements, enhancements, and changing customer demands. Accordingly, our success will depend on our ability to adapt to rapidly changing technologies and industry standards, and our ability to continually improve the speed, performance, features, ease of use and reliability of services in response to both evolving demands of the marketplace and competitive service and product offerings. There have been occasions when we have not been as responsive as many of our competitors in adapting our services to changing industry standards and the needs of our members and subscribers. Introducing new technology into our systems involves numerous technical challenges, substantial amounts of capital and personnel resources and often takes many months to complete. We intend to continue to devote substantial efforts and funds towards the development of additional technologies and services. For example, in 2003 and 2004 we have introduced a number of new Web sites and features, and we anticipate the introduction of additional Web sites and features in 2004 and 2005. We may not be successful in integrating new technology into our Web sites on a timely basis, which may degrade the responsiveness and speed of our Web sites. Such technology, once integrated, may not function as expected.
In addition, the number of people who access the Internet through devices other than desktop and laptop computers, including mobile telephones and other handheld computing devices, has increased dramatically in the past few years, and we expect this growth to continue. The lower resolution, functionality and memory currently associated with such mobile devices makes the use of our services through such mobile devices more difficult and generally impairs the member experience relative to access via desktop and laptop computers. If we are unable to attract and retain a substantial number of such mobile device users to our online personals services or if we are unable to develop services that are more compatible with such mobile communications devices, our growth could be adversely affected.
The online personals business is highly competitive. Competition presents an ongoing threat to the success of our business.
We expect competition in the online personals business to continue to increase because there are no substantial barriers to entry. We believe that our ability to compete depends upon many factors both within and beyond our control, including the following:
| • | the size and diversity of our member and subscriber bases; | |
| • | the timing and market acceptance of products and services, including the developments and enhancements to those products and services, offered by us or our competitors; | |
| • | customer service and support efforts; | |
| • | selling and marketing efforts; |
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| • | ease of use, performance, price and reliability of solutions developed either by us or our competitors; and | |
| • | our brand strength relative to our competitors. |
We compete with traditional dating and personals services, as well as newspapers, magazines and other traditional media companies that provide dating and personals services. We also compete with large Internet information hubs, or portals, such as Yahoo!, as well as online personals companies such as Match.com, a wholly-owned subsidiary of InterActiveCorp. Many of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories, significantly greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources and larger customer bases than we do. These factors may allow our competitors to respond more quickly than we can to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements. These competitors may engage in more extensive research and development efforts, undertake more far-reaching marketing campaigns and adopt more aggressive pricing policies which may allow them to build larger member and subscriber bases than we have. Our competitors may develop products or services that are equal or superior to our products and services or that achieve greater market acceptance than our products and services. This could attract subscribers away from our Web sites and reduce our market share.
In addition, current and potential competitors are making, and are expected to continue to make, strategic acquisitions or establish cooperative, and, in some cases, exclusive relationships with significant companies or competitors to expand their businesses or to offer more comprehensive products and services. To the extent these competitors or potential competitors establish exclusive relationships with major portals, search engines and ISPs, our ability to reach potential members through online advertising may be restricted. Any of these competitors could cause us difficulty in attracting and retaining members and converting members into subscribers and could jeopardize our existing affiliate program and relationships with portals, search engines, ISPs and other Web properties.
Expansion into international markets is important to our long-term success, and our limited experience in the operation of our business outside the United States increases the risk that our international expansion efforts and operations will not be successful.
One of our strategies is to expand our presence in international markets. Although we currently have offices in Germany, Israel and the U.K. and Web sites that serve the Australian, Canadian, German, Israeli and U.K. markets, we have only limited experience with operations outside the United States. Our primary current international operations are in Israel, which has political risks to our business associated with the continuing hostilities there. Expansion into international markets requires management and resources. In addition, we face the following additional risks associated with our expansion outside the United States:
| • | challenges caused by distance, language and cultural differences; | |
| • | local competitors with substantially greater brand recognition, more users and more traffic than we have; | |
| • | our need to create and increase our brand recognition and improve our marketing efforts internationally and build strong relationships with local affiliates; | |
| • | longer payment cycles in some countries; | |
| • | credit risk and higher levels of payment fraud; | |
| • | legal and regulatory restrictions; | |
| • | political, social and economic instability; | |
| • | foreign currency risk; | |
| • | potentially adverse tax consequences; and | |
| • | higher costs associated with doing business internationally. |
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These risks could harm our international expansion efforts, which would in turn harm our business and operating results.
If we are unable to attract, retain or motivate key personnel or hire qualified personnel, our business will be harmed.
Our performance and success is largely dependent on the talents and efforts of highly skilled individuals. Many of our executive officers and other key management talent were recently recruited to fill newly created positions in response to our expanding operations. For example, Todd Tappin, our President and Chief Executive Officer, joined us in February 2004. In addition, certain of our recently hired executives have limited or no experience in the online personals industry. We do not maintain any key-person life insurance policies and certain of our key employees, including Mr. Tappin, do not have employment contracts. We also do not have non-competition agreements with most employees, although these agreements are of limited enforceability in California. The loss of any of our management or key personnel could seriously harm our business.
In addition, we will need to identify, hire, and retain a number of key management personnel, including a Chief Financial Officer, Controller and General Counsel, as well as other highly skilled personnel for other areas of our organization. Competition in our industry for such personnel is intense, and we are aware that certain of our competitors have directly targeted our employees. Our continued ability to compete effectively depends on our ability to attract new employees and to retain and motivate our existing employees.
As we become a more mature company, we may find our recruiting efforts more challenging. The incentives to attract, retain and motivate employees provided by our option grants or by future arrangements, such as through cash bonuses, may not be as effective as in the past. If we do not succeed in attracting excellent personnel or retaining or motivating existing personnel, we may be unable to grow effectively.
Our executive management has worked as a team for only a limited period of time, which may harm their ability to manage effectively.
Todd Tappin, our President and Chief Executive Officer, joined our company in February 2004. Although Joe Y. Shapira and Alon Carmel resigned as our Chief Executive Officer and President, respectively, upon the hiring of Mr. Tappin, both of them have remained in an executive and day-to-day operating capacity and involved in corporate decision-making as Executive Co-Chairmen of the Board. Each of Messrs. Tappin, Shapira and Carmel have different and distinct management skills, backgrounds and styles and from time to time may work independently on new business or product development, which may be without the complete knowledge or understanding of the others’ activities. Because Messrs. Tappin, Shapira and Carmel have only worked together as a team for a limited period of time, there are inherent risks in the management of our company with respect to decision-making, business direction, product development and strategic relationships. In addition, certain other key management roles, such as Chief Financial Officer, Controller and General Counsel, have not yet been filled, and others have only been filled recently. In the event our Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Co-Chairmen of the Board and other members of our management team are unable to work well together or agree on certain operating principles, business direction or business transactions or in providing cohesive leadership, our business would be harmed and may also result in one or more of these individuals discontinuing their service to our company.
We cannot assure you that we will effectively manage our growth.
We have experienced rapid growth and demand for our services since inception. The growth and expansion of our business and service offerings places a continuous significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources. We are required to manage multiple relations with various strategic partners, technology licensors, members and other third parties. In the event of further growth of our operations or in the number of our third-party relationships, our computer systems, procedures or internal controls may not be adequate to support our operations and our management may not be able to manage any such growth effectively. To effectively manage our growth, we must continue to implement and improve our operational, financial and management information systems and to expand, train and manage our employee base.
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We expect our growth rates to decline and our negative operating margins could deteriorate.
We believe our revenue growth rate will decline as our net revenues increase to higher levels. It is possible that our negative operating margin will deteriorate if revenue growth does not exceed planned increases in expenditures for all aspects of our business in an increasingly competitive environment, including sales and marketing, general and administrative and technical operations expenses.
Our business depends on our server and network hardware and software and our ability to obtain network capacity; our current failover may be inadequate to prevent an interruption of use of our services.
The performance of our server and networking hardware and software infrastructure is critical to our business and reputation and our ability to attract Web users, advertisers, members and e-commerce partners to our Web sites and to convert members to subscribers. An unexpected and/or substantial increase in the use of our Web sites could strain the capacity of our systems, which could lead to a slower response time or system failures. Although we have not had any significant delays, any slowdowns or system failures could adversely affect the speed and responsiveness of our Web sites and would diminish the experience for our members and visitors. We face risks related to our ability to scale up to our expected customer levels while maintaining superior performance. If the usage of our Web sites substantially increases, we may need to purchase additional servers and networking equipment to maintain adequate data transmission speeds, the availability of which may be limited or the cost of which may be significant. Any system failure that causes an interruption in service or a decrease in the responsiveness of our Web sites could reduce traffic on our Web sites and, if sustained or repeated, could impair our reputation and the attractiveness of our brands as well as reduce revenue and negatively impact our operating results.
Furthermore, we rely on many different software applications, some of which have been developed internally. If these hardware and software systems fail, it would adversely affect our ability to provide our services. If we receive a significant unexpected increase in usage and are not able to rapidly expand our transaction-processing systems and network infrastructure without any systems interruptions, it could seriously harm our business and reputation. We have experienced occasional systems interruptions in the past as a result of unexpected increases in usage, and we cannot assure you we will not incur similar or more serious interruptions in the future.
In addition, we do not currently have adequate disaster recovery systems in place, which means in the event of any catastrophic failure involving our Web sites, we may be unable to serve our Web traffic for up to several days. Our servers operate from only a single site in Southern California and the absence of a backup site could exacerbate this disruption. Any system failure, including network, software or hardware failure, that causes such an interruption in the delivery of our Web sites and services or a decrease in responsiveness of our services would result in reduced visitor traffic, reduced revenue and would adversely affect our reputation and brands.
The failure to establish and maintain affiliate agreements and relationships could limit the growth of our business.
We have entered into, and expect to continue to enter into, arrangements with affiliates to increase our member base, bring traffic to our Web sites and enhance our brands. If any of the current agreements are terminated, we may not be able to replace the terminated agreement with an equally beneficial arrangement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to renew any of our current agreements when they expire or, if we are able to do so, that such renewals will be available on acceptable terms. We also do not know whether we will be successful in entering into additional agreements or that any relationships, if entered into, will be on terms favorable to us.
We rely on a number of third-party providers, and their failure to perform or termination of our relationships with them could harm us.
We rely on third parties to provide important services and technologies to us, including third parties that manage and monitor our offsite data center located in Southern California, ISPs and credit card processors. In addition, we license technologies from third parties to facilitate our ability to provide our services. Any failure on
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If we fail to develop or maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, current and potential shareholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our common stock.
Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and effectively prevent fraud and to operate successfully as a public company. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our reputation and operating results would be harmed. We have in the past discovered, and may in the future discover, areas of our internal controls that need improvement. For example, during our 2003 audit, our external auditors brought to our attention a need to restate 2001 and 2002 annual results as well as 2003 interim results.
Our external auditors also noted in a letter to management certain reportable conditions involving internal controls and operations. According to the letter, we currently do not have a sufficient amount or type of staff in the financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including a Controller and a Chief Financial Officer, nor do we have an adequate automated accounting system. We are currently seeking to hire appropriate staff as soon as practicable, and we intend to replace our accounting system within approximately 12 months, but each of these matters may take longer. Other reportable conditions involve the inadequacy of our procedures regarding: reconciliation of our accounts; proof of internal review and approval of accounting items; documentation of key accounting assumptions, estimates and/or conclusions; and documentation of accounting policies and procedures. We are currently taking steps to address these conditions, but we may be hampered in this regard by our current level of staffing and our current accounting system. We also have not yet developed or implemented a disaster recovery plan or business continuity plan for our accounting and related information technology systems. Any disaster could therefore materially impair our ability to maintain timely accounting and reporting. In addition, we need to hire a General Counsel.
We cannot be certain that our efforts to improve our internal controls will be successful or that we will be able to maintain adequate controls over our financial processes and reporting in the future. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation or delay in the implementation of our new accounting system or other effective improvement of our internal controls could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock.
We face risks related to our recent accounting restatements.
Prior to this offering, the global depository shares of MatchNet plc traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany. Pursuant to the laws governing this exchange, we publicly reported our quarterly and annual operating results. On April 28, 2004, we publicly announced that we had discovered accounting inaccuracies in previously reported financial statements. As a result, following consultation with our new auditors, we have restated our financial statements for the first two quarters of 2003 and for each of the years ended December 31, 2002 and 2001 to correct inappropriate accounting entries.
The restatements primarily related to the timing of recognition of deferred revenue and the capitalization of bounty costs, which are the amounts paid to online marketers to acquire members. The restatements are in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles and pertained primarily to timing matters
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Holders of securities in MatchNet plc will become shareholders of our company as a result of the English Scheme of Arrangement concurrent with the completion of this offering. As a result, the restatement of these financial statements may lead to litigation claims and/or regulatory proceedings against us. The defense of any such claims or proceedings may cause the diversion of management’s attention and resources, and we may be required to pay damages if any such claims or proceedings are not resolved in our favor. Any litigation or regulatory proceeding, even if resolved in our favor, could cause us to incur significant legal and other expenses. Moreover, we may be the subject of negative publicity focusing on the financial statement inaccuracies and resulting restatement. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could harm our business and reputation and cause the price of our common stock to decline.
We may not be successful in protecting our Internet domain names or proprietary rights upon which our business relies or avoiding claims that we infringe upon the proprietary rights of others.
We regard substantial elements of our Web sites and the underlying technology as proprietary, and attempt to protect them by relying on trademark, service mark, copyright, patent and trade secret laws, and restrictions on disclosure and transferring title and other methods. We also generally enter into confidentiality agreements with our employees and consultants, and generally seek to control access to and distribution of our technology, documentation and other proprietary information. Despite these precautions, it may be possible for a third party to copy or otherwise obtain and use our proprietary information without authorization or to develop similar or superior technology independently. Effective trademark, service mark, copyright, patent and trade secret protection may not be available in every country in which our services are distributed or made available through the Internet, and policing unauthorized use of our proprietary information is difficult. Any such misappropriation or development of similar or superior technology by third parties could adversely impact our future financial results.
We believe that our Web sites, services, trademarks, patent, and other proprietary technology do not infringe on the rights of third parties. However, there can be no assurance that our business activities will not infringe upon the proprietary rights of others, or that other parties will not assert infringement claims against us. From time to time, we have been, and expect to continue to be, subject to claims in the ordinary course of business including claims of alleged infringement of the trademarks, service marks and other intellectual property rights of third parties by us. Although such claims have not resulted in any significant litigation or had a material adverse effect on our business to date, any such claims and resultant litigation might subject us to temporary injunctive restrictions on the use of our products or services and could result in significant liability for damages for intellectual property infringement, require us to enter into royalty agreements, or restrict us from using infringing software or technologies in the future. Even if not meritorious, such litigation could be time-consuming and expensive and could result in the diversion of management’s time and attention.
We currently hold various Web domain names relating to our brands and in the future may acquire new Web domain names. The regulation of domain names in the United States and in foreign countries is subject to change. Governing bodies may establish additional top-level domains, appoint additional domain name registrars or modify the requirements for holding domain names. As a result, we may be unable to acquire or maintain relevant domain names in all countries in which we conduct business. Furthermore, the relationship between regulations governing domain names and laws protecting trademarks and similar proprietary rights is unclear. We may be unable to prevent third parties from acquiring domain names that are similar to, infringe upon or otherwise decrease the value of our existing trademarks and other proprietary rights or those we may seek to acquire. Any such inability could harm our business.
We may face potential liability, loss of users and damage to our reputation for violation of our privacy policy.
Our privacy policy prohibits the sale or disclosure to any third party of any member’s personal identifying information, except to the extent expressly set forth in the policy. Growing public concern about privacy and the
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We may be liable as a result of information retrieved from or transmitted over the Internet.
We may be sued for defamation, civil rights infringement, negligence, copyright or trademark infringement, invasion of privacy, personal injury, product liability or other legal claims relating to information that is published or made available on our Web sites and the other sites linked to it. These types of claims have been brought, sometimes successfully, against online services in the past. We also offer email services, which may subject us to potential risks, such as liabilities or claims resulting from unsolicited email or spamming, lost or misdirected messages, security breaches, illegal or fraudulent use of email or interruptions or delays in email service. Our insurance does not specifically provide for coverage of these types of claims and therefore may not adequately protect us against these types of claims. In addition, we could incur significant costs in investigating and defending such claims, even if we ultimately are not liable. If any of these events occur, our revenues could be materially adversely affected and the value of our common stock may decline.
Our quarterly results may fluctuate because of many factors. Investors should not rely on quarterly operating results as indicative of future results because they are subject to fluctuations.
Fluctuations in operating results or the failure of operating results to meet the expectations of public market analysts and investors may negatively impact the value of our common stock. Quarterly operating results may fluctuate in the future due to a variety of factors that could affect revenues or expenses in any particular quarter. Fluctuations in quarterly operating results could cause the value of our common stock to decline. Investors should not rely on quarter-to-quarter comparisons of results of operations as an indication of future performance. Factors that may affect our quarterly results include:
| • | the demand for, and acceptance of, our online personals services and enhancements to these services; | |
| • | the timing and amount of our subscription revenues; | |
| • | the introduction, development, timing, competitive pricing and market acceptance of our Web sites and services and those of our competitors; | |
| • | the magnitude and timing of marketing initiatives and capital expenditures relating to our rebranding efforts and expansion of our operations; | |
| • | the cost and timing of online and offline advertising and other marketing efforts; | |
| • | the maintenance and development of relationships with portals, search engines, ISPs and other Web properties and other entities capable of attracting potential subscribers to our Web sites; | |
| • | technical difficulties, system failures, system security breaches, or downtime of the Internet in general or of our products and services specifically; | |
| • | costs related to any acquisitions or dispositions of technologies or businesses; and | |
| • | general economic conditions, as well as those specific to the Internet and related industries. |
As a result of the factors listed above and because the online personals business is still immature, making it difficult to predict consumer demand, it is possible that in future periods results of operations may be below the expectations of public market analysts and investors. This could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
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Acquisitions could result in operating difficulties, dilution and other harmful consequences.
We plan during the next few years to further extend and develop our presence both within the United States and internationally, partially through acquisitions of entities offering online personals services and related businesses. We have a limited amount of experience acquiring companies and the companies we have acquired have been small. We have evaluated, and expect to continue to evaluate, a wide array of potential strategic transactions. From time to time, we may engage in discussions regarding potential acquisitions. Any of these transactions could be material to our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the process of integrating an acquired company, business or technology may create unforeseen operating difficulties and expenditures and is risky. For example, we are currently engaged in litigation with respect to our acquisition of SocialNet, Inc. in 2001. In addition, our acquisition of a 20% interest in a Swedish online personals company is currently pending. The areas where we may face risks include:
| • | the need to implement or remediate controls, procedures and policies appropriate for a larger company at companies that prior to the acquisition lacked these controls, procedures and policies; | |
| • | diversion of management time and focus from operating our business to acquisition integration challenges; | |
| • | cultural challenges associated with integrating employees from the acquired company into our organization; | |
| • | dependence on co-investors or controlling shareholders for performance of any joint venture or similar arrangement that we make that is not subject to our control; | |
| • | retaining employees from the businesses we acquire; and | |
| • | the need to integrate each company’s accounting, management information, human resource and other administrative systems to permit effective management. |
The anticipated benefit of many of our acquisitions may not materialize. Future acquisitions or dispositions could result in potentially dilutive issuances of our equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities or amortization expenses, or write-offs of goodwill, any of which could harm our financial condition. Future acquisitions may require us to obtain additional equity or debt financing, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all.
We may need additional capital to finance our growth or to compete.
We currently anticipate that the proceeds of this offering, existing cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities and cash flow from operations will be sufficient to meet our anticipated needs for working capital, operating expenses and capital expenditures for at least the next 12 months. We may need to raise additional capital in the future to fund more aggressive brand promotions and rapid expansion, develop newer or enhanced services, respond to competitive pressures or acquire complementary businesses, technologies or services. Such additional financing may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all. If additional financing is not available or not available on acceptable terms, we may not be able to fund our expansion, promote our brands, take advantage of acquisition opportunities, develop or enhance services or respond to competitive pressures. Additionally, any issuance of additional capital stock could dilute your investment and announcements of additional stock issuances often cause market prices to decline.
Our business could be significantly impacted by the occurrence of natural disasters and other catastrophic events.
Our operations depend upon our ability to maintain and protect our data center, which is located in Southern California and is managed by a third party. Our business is therefore susceptible to earthquakes and other catastrophic events, including acts of terrorism. We currently lack adequate redundant hardware and software systems supporting our services at an alternate site. We may not be able to prevent outages and downtime caused by natural disasters and other events out of our control, which could adversely affect our reputation, brands and business.
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The initial option grants to many of our senior management and key employees are fully vested. Therefore, these employees may not have sufficient financial incentive to stay with us.
With the exceptions of Todd Tappin, our President and Chief Executive Officer, and other executive officers and key employees who have recently joined our company, many of our senior management personnel and other key employees have become, or will soon become, substantially vested in their initial stock option grants. While we often grant additional stock options to management personnel and other key employees after their hire dates to provide additional incentives to remain employed by us, their initial grants are usually much larger than follow-on grants. Employees may be more likely to leave us after their initial option grant fully vests, especially if the shares underlying the options have significantly appreciated in value relative to the option exercise price.
If we account for employee stock options using the fair value method, it could significantly reduce our net income or increase our losses.
There has been ongoing public debate about whether share options granted to employees should be treated as a compensation expense and, if so, how to properly value such charges. On March 31, 2004, the Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) issued an Exposure Draft, Stock-Based Payment: an amendment of FASB statements No. 123 and 95, which would require a company to recognize, as an expense, the fair value of stock options and other stock-based compensation to employees beginning in 2005 and subsequent reporting periods. If we elect or are required to record an expense for our stock-based compensation plans using the fair value method as described in the Exposure Draft, we could have significant and ongoing accounting charges.
We may face risks associated with currency fluctuations.
Our foreign operations may subject us to currency fluctuations and such fluctuations may adversely affect our financial position and results. However, sales and expenses to date have occurred primarily in the United States. For this reason, we have not engaged in foreign exchange hedging. In connection with our planned international expansion, currency risk positions could change correspondingly and the use of foreign exchange hedging instruments could become necessary. Effects of exchange rate fluctuations on our financial condition, operations, and profitability may depend on how successfully we manage our foreign currency risks. There can be no assurance that steps taken by management to address foreign currency fluctuations will eliminate all adverse effects and accordingly, we may suffer losses due to adverse foreign currency fluctuation.
It has been and may continue to be expensive to obtain and maintain insurance.
We contract for insurance to cover potential risks and liabilities. In the current environment, insurance companies are increasingly specific about what they will and will not insure. It is possible that we may not be able to get enough insurance to meet our needs, we may have to pay very high prices for the coverage we do get, or we may not be able to acquire any insurance for certain types of business risk or may have gaps in coverage for certain risks. This could leave us exposed to potential claims. If we were found liable for a significant claim in the future, our operating results could be negatively impacted.
Risks Related to Our Industry
The percentage of cancelling subscribers in comparison to other subscription businesses requires that we must continually seek new subscribers to maintain or increase our current level of revenue.
Internet users in general, and users of online personals services specifically, freely navigate and switch among a large number of Web sites. Subscriber churn represents a ratio, expressed as a percentage, of (i) subscriber cancellations in a period divided by the average of the subscribers at the beginning and end of the period and (ii) the number of months in the period. For the six months ended June 30, 2004 and 2003, subscriber churn was 32% and 29%, respectively. We cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain our subscriber churn, and it may increase in the future. This makes it difficult for us to have a stable member base and requires that we constantly attract new subscribers at a faster rate than subscription terminations to maintain or increase our current level of revenue. If we are unable to attract new subscribers on a cost-effective basis, our business will not grow and our profitability will be adversely affected.
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We face certain risks related to the physical and emotional safety of our members.
Given the nature of online personals services, we cannot control the actions of our members in their communication or physical actions and there is a possibility that one or more of our members could be physically or emotionally harmed following interaction with another member on one of our Web sites. We warn our members that we do not and cannot screen other members, and given our lack of physical presence, we do not take any action to ensure personal safety on a meeting arranged following contact initiated via our Web sites. If an unfortunate incident of this nature occurred in a meeting of two people following contact initiated on one of our Web sites or a Web site of one of our competitors, any resulting negative publicity could materially and adversely affect the online personals industry in general. Any such incident involving one of our Web sites could damage our reputation and our brands. This, in turn, could adversely affect our revenues and could cause the value of our common stock to decline. In addition, the affected members could initiate legal action against us, which could cause us to incur significant expense, whether or not successful, and further damage our reputation.
We are exposed to risks associated with credit card fraud and credit payment.
We depend on continuing availability of credit card usage to process subscriptions, and this availability in turn depends on acceptable levels of chargebacks and fraud performance. We have suffered losses and may continue to suffer losses as a result of subscription orders placed with fraudulent credit card data, even though the associated financial institution approved payment. Under current credit card practices, a merchant is liable for fraudulent credit card transactions when, as is the case with the transactions we process, that merchant does not obtain a cardholder’s signature. A failure to adequately control fraudulent credit card transactions would result in significantly higher credit card-related costs.
Our network is vulnerable to security breaches and inappropriate use by Internet users, which could disrupt or deter future use of our services.
Concerns over the security of transactions conducted on the Internet and the privacy of users may inhibit the growth of the Internet and other online services generally, and online commerce in particular. Our failure to successfully prevent security breaches could significantly harm our business, reputation and results of operations and could expose us to lawsuits by state and federal consumer protection agencies, by governmental authorities in the foreign jurisdictions in which we operate, and by consumers. Anyone who is able to circumvent our security measures could misappropriate proprietary information, including customer credit card and personal data, cause interruptions in our operations or damage our brand and reputation. Such breach of our security measures could involve the disclosure of personally identifiable information and could expose us to a material risk of litigation, liability or a governmental enforcement proceeding. We cannot assure you that our financial systems and other technology resources are completely secure from security breaches or sabotage, and we have occasionally experienced security breaches and attempts at “hacking.” We may be required to incur significant additional costs to protect against security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by breaches. Any well-publicized compromise of our security or the security of any other Internet provider could deter people from using our services or the Internet to conduct transactions that involve transmitting confidential information or downloading sensitive materials, which would adversely affect our business.
Computer viruses may cause our systems to incur delays or other service interruptions and could damage our reputation and affect our ability to provide our services and adversely affect our revenues. The inadvertent transmission of computer viruses could also expose us to a material risk of loss or litigation and possible liability. Moreover, if a computer virus affecting our system is highly publicized, our reputation could be significantly damaged resulting in the loss of current and future members and subscribers.
Our business depends in part on the growth and maintenance of the Internet infrastructure.
Our success will depend in part on the continued growth and maintenance of the Internet infrastructure. This includes maintenance of a reliable network backbone with the necessary speed, data capacity and security for providing reliable Internet services. Internet infrastructure may be unable to support the demands placed on it if the number of Internet users continues to increase, or if existing or future Internet users access the Internet more
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We face risks associated with our dependence on computer and telecommunications infrastructure.
Our services are dependent upon the use of the Internet and telephone and broadband communications to provide high-capacity data transmission without system downtime. For example, there have been instances where regional and national telecommunications outages have caused us to experience systems interruptions. Any additional interruptions, delays or capacity problems experienced with the telephone connection could adversely affect our ability to provide services to our customers. The temporary or permanent loss of all or a portion of the telecommunications system, or significant delays, could cause disruption of our business activities and result in a loss of revenue. Additionally, the telecommunications industry is subject to regulatory control. Amendments to current regulations could disrupt or adversely affect the profitability of our business.
In addition, if any of our current agreements with telecommunications providers are terminated, we may not be able to replace the terminated agreement with an equally beneficial arrangement. There can be no assurance that we will be able to renew any of our current agreements when they expire or, if we are able to do so, that such renewals will be available on acceptable terms. We also do not know whether we will be successful in entering into additional agreements or that any relationships, if entered into, will be on terms favorable to us.
We may become subject to burdensome government regulations and legal uncertainties affecting the Internet that could adversely affect our business.
Legal uncertainties surrounding domestic and foreign government regulations could increase our costs of doing business, require us to revise our services, prevent us from delivering our services over the Internet or slow the growth of the Internet, any of which could increase our expenses, reduce our revenues or cause our revenues to grow at a slower rate than expected and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Laws and regulations related to Internet communications, security, privacy, intellectual property rights, commerce, taxation, entertainment, recruiting and advertising are becoming more prevalent, and new laws and regulations are under consideration by the United States Congress, state legislatures and foreign governments. Any legislation enacted or restrictions arising from current or future government investigations or policy could dampen the growth in use of the Internet generally and decrease the acceptance of the Internet as a communications, commercial, entertainment, recruiting and advertising medium. In addition to new laws and regulations being adopted, existing laws may be applied to the Internet. Many areas of law affecting the Internet remain unsettled, even in areas where there has been some legislative action. It may take years to determine whether and how existing laws such as those governing consumer protection, intellectual property, libel and taxation apply to the Internet.
In the normal course of our business, we handle personally identifiable information pertaining to our members and Web site visitors residing in the United States as well as foreign countries. In recent years, many of these countries have adopted privacy, security, and data protection laws and regulations intended to prevent improper uses and disclosures of personally identifiable information. In addition, some jurisdictions impose database registration requirements for which significant monetary and other penalties may be imposed for
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Risks Related to This Offering
We expect the price of our common stock to be volatile, and if an active trading market for our common stock does not develop, the price of our common stock may suffer and may decline below the initial public offering price.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for the common stock of MatchNet, Inc. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that an active trading market will develop or be sustained or that the market price of our common stock will not decline below the initial offering price. The price at which our common stock will trade after this offering is likely to be highly volatile and may fluctuate substantially due to many factors, some of which are outside of our control. In the event that the Frankfurt Stock Exchange does not exercise its discretionary authority to suspend trading of the global depository shares of MatchNet plc during that period of time from the effective date of this offering through the closing date of this offering, the global depository shares of MatchNet plc will continue to be quoted on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. In such an event, the underwriters do not intend to engage in stabilizing transactions in the global depository shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. In such an event, there may be price differences between the price at which our common stock will trade during such period on the Nasdaq National Market and the price of the global depository shares of MatchNet plc on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Any such price differential may have a negative effect on the price at which our common stock will trade after this offering.
The initial public offering price for our common stock will be determined by us, the selling stockholders, and the representatives of the underwriters and may be affected by the trading price of the global depository shares of MatchNet plc. The initial public offering price of our common stock may not be indicative of prices that will prevail in the trading market.
In addition, the stock market has experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that affected the market price for the stock of many technology, communications and entertainment and media companies. These market fluctuations were sometimes unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Any significant stock market fluctuations in the future, whether due to our actual performance or prospects or not, could result in a significant decline in the market price of our common stock.
You will experience immediate and substantial dilution in the net tangible book value of the shares you purchase in this offering.
The initial public offering price of our common stock will be substantially higher than the book value per share of the outstanding common stock after this offering. Therefore, based on an assumed offering price of $ per share, investors in this offering will suffer immediate and substantial dilution of approximately $ per share. If outstanding options and warrants to purchase our common stock are exercised, investors in this offering will experience additional dilution.
A substantial amount of our common stock will be eligible for sale shortly after this offering.
If our stockholders sell substantial amounts of common stock in the public market following this offering, the market price of our common stock could fall. These sales also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities at a time and price that we deem appropriate. Based on shares outstanding as of June 30, 2004, upon completion of this offering, we will have shares of common stock outstanding. Of these shares, the shares of common stock being offered hereby, or approximately %, will be freely tradable, except those held by our officers, directors and holders of over 10% of our outstanding common stock prior to the effective date of this offering. Shares held by our officers, directors and holders of over 10% of our
19
Management will have broad discretion over the use of proceeds from this offering.
The net proceeds from this offering will be used for general corporate purposes. Although we list our proposed marketing and sales program as an example of general corporate purposes, we are not obligated to pursue this opportunity. We have not reserved or allocated the net proceeds for any specific transaction, and we cannot specify with certainty how we will use the net proceeds. Accordingly, our management will have considerable discretion in the application of the net proceeds, and you will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether the proceeds are being used appropriately. The net proceeds may be used for corporate purposes that do not increase our operating results or market value. Until the net proceeds are used, they may be placed in investments that do not produce income or that lose value.
The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and distract our management.
As a public company, we will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Nasdaq National Market rules promulgated in response to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. These requirements may place a strain on our systems and resources. The Securities Exchange Act requires, among other thing, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting. Significant resources and management oversight will be required, particularly in light of the conditions noted by our auditors in their letter to management in connection with the 2003 audit of our company. As a result, our management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on our company. In addition, we will need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge, including staff dedicated to internal controls and related documentation and reporting, and we may not be able to do so in a timely fashion. The Nasdaq National Market rules require that a majority of our Board of Directors be comprised of independent directors and certain committees of our Board of Directors be comprised solely of independent directors. As a public company that will be required to satisfy these rules, resignations or other changes in the composition of our Board could make it difficult for us to continue to comply with these rules in a timely manner, which could result in the delisting of our common stock from the Nasdaq National Market.
20
Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws or Delaware law might discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our management and, therefore, depress the trading price of our common stock.
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that could depress the trading price of our common stock by acting to discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our management that the stockholders of our company may deem advantageous. These provisions:
| • | establish a classified board of directors so that not all members of our Board are elected at one time; | |
| • | provide that directors may only be removed “for cause” and only with the approval of 66 2/3% of our stockholders; | |
| • | authorize the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock that our board could issue to increase the number of outstanding shares and to discourage a takeover attempt; | |
| • | limit the ability of our stockholders to call special meetings of stockholders; | |
| • | prohibit stockholder action by written consent, which requires all stockholder actions to be taken at a meeting of our stockholders; | |
| • | provide that the board of directors is expressly authorized to make, alter or repeal our bylaws; and | |
| • | establish advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our board or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at stockholder meetings. |
We also will be subject to provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law that, in general, prohibit any business combination with a beneficial owner of 15% or more of our common stock for three years after the point in time that such stockholder acquired shares constituting 15% or more of our shares, unless the holder’s acquisition of our stock was approved in advance by our board of directors.
Our principal stockholders can exercise significant influence over MatchNet.
Joe Y. Shapira, Alon Carmel, and Tiger Technology Management, L.L.C. and their respective affiliates will beneficially own upon the closing of this offering, in the aggregate, % of the outstanding shares of our common stock. As a result, these stockholders possess significant influence over MatchNet, giving them the ability, among other things, to elect a majority of our Board of Directors and approve significant corporate transactions. Such share ownership and control may also have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of our company, impeding a merger, consolidation, takeover or other business combination involving our company or discourage a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company which could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
We do not expect to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future.
We have not paid cash dividends on our shares and do not plan to pay cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.
21
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus, including the sections entitled “Prospectus Summary,” “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Business,” contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this prospectus, including statements regarding our future financial position, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates,” “may,” “will,” “continue,” “should,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, which are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions described in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus, regarding, among other things:
| • | the future growth of the online personals market; | |
| • | our business strategies and development plans; | |
| • | new services and technologies; | |
| • | future expenses; and | |
| • | competition and competitive factors within the online personals market. |
These risks are not exhaustive. Other sections of this prospectus include additional factors that could adversely impact our business and operating results. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for our management to predict all risk factors, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.
You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We cannot assure you that the events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Moreover, neither we nor any other person assume responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this prospectus to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations.
You should read this prospectus and the documents that we reference in this prospectus and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement on Form S-1, of which this prospectus is a part, that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results, levels of activity, performance and achievements may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
22
USE OF PROCEEDS
We estimate that the net proceeds we will receive from this offering will be approximately $ million, at an assumed initial public offering price of $ per share, after deducting estimated offering expenses and estimated underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders. If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, we estimate that our net proceeds will be approximately $ million.
The principal purposes of this offering are to create a public market for our common stock, to obtain additional capital and to facilitate our future access to the public equity markets.
We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering to expand our marketing efforts and for general corporate purposes, including working capital and capital expenditures, but we have not designated any specific uses. We intend to institute a marketing program designed to heighten our brand recognition, to attract additional members and subscribers and to support our rebranding campaign. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds to fund possible investments in, or acquisitions of, complementary businesses, products or technologies or to establish joint ventures. We have pending an acquisition of a 20% interest in a Swedish online personals company for approximately $1.0 million. None of the proceeds of this offering will be used to fund that acquisition. We have no other current agreements or commitments with respect to any investment, acquisition or joint venture. Accordingly, our management will have broad discretion in applying the net proceeds of this offering. Pending these uses, we intend to invest the net proceeds in short-term interest-bearing U.S. government securities.
The amount and timing of what we actually spend for these purposes may vary significantly and will depend on a number of factors, including our future revenues and cash generated by operations and the other factors described in “Risk Factors.” We may find it necessary or advisable to use portions of the proceeds for other purposes.
DIVIDEND POLICY
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock. We currently anticipate that we will retain all of our future earnings for use in the expansion and operation of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We also may incur indebtedness in the future that may prohibit or effectively restrict the payment of dividends on our common stock. Any future determination related to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of the board.
23
CAPITALIZATION
The following table summarizes our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities and capitalization as of June 30, 2004,
| • | on an actual basis to reflect the English Scheme of Arrangement; | |
| • | on an as adjusted basis to reflect our receipt of estimated net proceeds from the sale of our shares of common stock in this offering (at an assumed initial public offering price of $ per share and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses). |
You should read this table in conjunction with “Use of Proceeds,” “Selected Consolidated Financial Data,” “Pro Forma Combined Financial Data,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.
| June 30, 2004 | ||||||||||
| Actual | As Adjusted | |||||||||
| (in thousands | ||||||||||
| except share data) | ||||||||||
|
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities
|
$ | 9,492 | $ | |||||||
|
Capital lease obligations
|
$ | 333 | $ | |||||||
|
Stockholders’ equity:
|
||||||||||
|
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value,
10,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and
outstanding actual or as adjusted
|
— | |||||||||
|
Common stock, $0.001 par value,
100,000,000 shares authorized; 23,070,442 shares
issued and outstanding,
actual; shares
issued and outstanding, as adjusted
|
408 | |||||||||
|
Additional paid-in capital
|
55,123 | |||||||||
|
Deferred stock-based compensation
|
(2,707 | ) | ||||||||
|
Accumulated other comprehensive income
|
(290 | ) | ||||||||
|
Accumulated deficit
|
(39,122 | ) | ||||||||
|
Total stockholders’ equity
|
13,412 | |||||||||
|
Total capitalization
|
$ | 13,745 | $ | |||||||
The number of shares of our common stock shown above to be outstanding after this offering is based on shares outstanding as of June 30, 2004 and gives effect to the English Scheme of Arrangement that will occur prior to the completion of this offering. This information excludes:
| • | 8,942,587 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding stock options as of June 30, 2004, with exercise prices ranging from $.89 to $10.19 per share and a weighted average exercise price of $2.86 per share; | |
| • | 1,138,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2004, with exercise prices ranging from $1.05 to $2.50 and a weighted average exercise price of $2.35 per share; and | |
| • | 5,000,000 shares of common stock available for issuance under our 2004 Stock Incentive Plan. |
24
DILUTION
If you invest in our common stock, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the public offering price per share of our common stock and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering. Pro forma net tangible book value per share represents the amount of our total tangible assets less total liabilities, divided by the pro forma number of shares of our common stock outstanding after giving effect to the English Scheme of Arrangement.
Investors participating in this offering will incur immediate, substantial dilution. Our pro forma net tangible book value as of June 30, 2004 was $4.6 million, or $0.20 per share of common stock, after giving effect to the English Scheme of Arrangement. Assuming the sale by us of shares of common stock offered in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $ per share, and after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value as of June 30, 2004, would have been $ million, or $ per share of common stock. This represents an immediate increase in pro forma net tangible book value of $ per share of common stock to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution of $ per share to the new investors purchasing shares in this offering.
The following table illustrates this per share dilution:
|
Assumed initial public offering price per share
|
$ | ||||||||
|
Pro forma net tangible book value per share
before the offering
|
$ | 0.20 | |||||||
|
Increase per share attributable to new public
investors
|
|||||||||
|
Pro forma net tangible book value per share after
this offering
|
|||||||||
|
Dilution per share to new public investors
|
$ | ||||||||
The following table sets forth, on an as adjusted basis as of June 30, 2004, the difference between the number of shares of common stock purchased from us, the total consideration paid, and the average price per share paid by existing stockholders and by new public investors before deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, using an assumed initial public offering price of $ per share:
| Total Consideration | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares Purchased(1) | (000’s) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Average Price | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | Percent | Amount | Percent | Per Share | ||||||||||||||||
|
Existing stockholders
|
23,070,442 | % | $ | % | $ | |||||||||||||||
|
New investors
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Total
|
100.0 | % | $ | 100.0 | % | $ | ||||||||||||||
| (1) | The number of shares disclosed for the existing stockholders includes shares being sold by the selling stockholders in this offering. The number of shares disclosed for the new investors does not include those shares. |
If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, the number of shares of common stock held by existing stockholders will be reduced to % of the total number of shares of common stock to be outstanding after this offering; and the number of shares of common stock held by the new investors will be increased to shares or % of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding after this offering. See “Principal and Selling Stockholders.”
The discussion and tables above give effect to the English Scheme of Arrangement and assume no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, and exclude:
| • | 8,942,587 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding stock options as of June 30, 2004, with exercise prices ranging from $.89 to $10.19 per share and a weighted average exercise price of $2.86 per share; |
25
| • | 1,138,000 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2004, with exercise prices ranging from $1.05 to $2.50 and a weighted average exercise price of $2.35 per share; and | |
| • | 5,000,000 shares of common stock available for issuance under our 2004 Stock Incentive Plan. |
To the extent that these options and warrants are exercised, there will be further dilution to new investors. In addition, we may choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that additional capital is raised through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of these securities could result in further dilution to our stockholders.
26
SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA
The following table sets forth our selected consolidated financial data. The data should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the consolidated financial statements, related notes, and other financial information included herein. The following selected consolidated statement of operations data for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2003, and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2002 and 2003, are derived from the audited consolidated financial statements of our company included elsewhere in this prospectus. The following selected unaudited consolidated statement of operations data for the six months ended June 30, 2004 and 2003 and selected consolidated balance sheet data as of June 30, 2004 are derived from the unaudited consolidated financial statements of our company included elsewhere in this prospectus. The consolidated statement of operations data for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2000 and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 1999 and 2000 are derived from unaudited consolidated financial statements not included in this prospectus. Prior to this offering, the global depository shares of MatchNet plc traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany. Pursuant to the laws governing this exchange, we publicly reported our quarterly and annual operating results. On April 28, 2004, we publicly announced that we had discovered accounting inaccuracies in previously reported financial statements. As a result, following consultation with our new auditors, we have restated our financial statements for the first two quarters of 2003 and for each of the years ended December 31, 2002 and 2001 to correct inappropriate accounting entries. Based in part on the fact that our 2001 and 2002 annual and 2003 interim financial statements were restated, it is likely that our 1999 and 2000 unaudited financial statements would have been subject to adjustments, which could have been material, had they been subjected to an audit and do not reflect accounting treatment or presentation consistent with audited financial statements for the years ended and as of December 31, 2001, 2002 and 2003. You should therefore not rely on data derived from such financial statements. The historical results are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected in any future period.
| Six Months | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year Ended December 31, (1) | June 30, (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2003 | 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except per share data) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Consolidated Statements of Operations
Data:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net revenues
|
$ | 659 | $ | 6,670 | $ | 10,434 | $ | 16,352 | $ | 36,941 | $ | 15,459 | $ | 30,862 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Operating expenses:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Marketing
|
1,067 | 6,267 | 2,586 | 5,799 | 19,333 | 8,326 | 17,080 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Customer service
|
186 | 402 | 641 | 1,207 | 2,536 | 1,021 | 1,878 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Technical operations
|
204 | 628 | 1,772 | 1,587 | 4,341 | 1,813 | 3,318 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Product development
|
29 | 81 | 357 | 603 | 928 | 397 | 706 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
General and administrative (excluding stock-based
compensation)
|
2,131 | 6,215 | 5,496 | 7,996 | 16,885 | 5,111 | 12,078 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Stock-based compensation
|
— | — | — | — | 1,871 | — | 2,401 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Amortization of goodwill and intangible assets
|
512 | 1,127 | 2,137 | 524 | 555 | 189 | 482 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill
|
— | — | 3,997 | — | 1,532 | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Total operating expenses
|
4,129 | 14,720 | 16,986 | 17,716 | 47,981 | 16,857 | 37,943 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating loss
|
(3,470 | ) | (8,050 | ) | (6,552 | ) | (1,364 | ) | (11,040 | ) | (1,398 | ) | (7,081 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
|
Interest (income) and other expenses, net
|
(39 | ) | 1,113 | 1,627 | (840 | ) | (188 | ) | (110 | ) | 32 | |||||||||||||||||||
|
Loss before income taxes
|
(3,431 | ) | (9,163 | ) | (8,179 | ) | (524 | ) | (10,852 | ) | (1,288 | ) | (7,113 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
|
Provision for income taxes
|
— | — | — | — | — | 40 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net loss
|
$ | (3,431 | ) | $ | (9,163 | ) | $ | (8,179 | ) | $ | (524 | ) | $ | (10,852 | ) | $ | (1,328 | ) | $ | (7,114 | ) | |||||||||
|
Net loss per share— basic and
diluted (2)
|
$ | (0.36 | ) | $ | (0.69 | ) | $ | (0.47 | ) | $ | (0.03 | ) | $ | (0.57 | ) | $ | (0.07 | ) | $ | (0.33 | ) | |||||||||
|
Weighted average shares outstanding— basic
and diluted (2)
|
9,530 | 13,213 | 17,460 | 18,460 | 18,970 | 18,722 | 21,521 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | June 30, 2004 | |||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Cash and marketable securities
|
$ | 615 | $ | 11,410 | $ | 7,569 | $ | 7,755 | $ | 5,815 | $ | 9,492 | ||||||||||||
|
Total assets
|
6,288 | 23,409 | 16,352 | 17,461 | 17,089 | 28,616 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Deferred revenue
|
102 | 362 | 993 | 1,535 | 3,232 | 3,937 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Capital lease obligations
|
— | — | — | — | 487 | 333 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Total liabilities
|
3,866 | 6,156 | 3,238 | 3,998 | 11,659 | 15,204 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Accumulated deficit
|
(3,529 | ) | (12,453 | ) | (20,632 | ) | (21,156 | ) | (32,008 | ) | (39,122 | ) | ||||||||||||
|
Total shareholders’ equity
|
2,423 | 17,253 | 13,114 | 13,463 | 5,430 | 13,412 | ||||||||||||||||||
27
| (1) | Refer to “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for a discussion of certain asset and business acquisitions. | |
| (2) | For information regarding the computation of per share amounts, refer to note 1 of our consolidated financial statements. |
28
PRO FORMA COMBINED FINANCIAL DATA
The following unaudited pro forma combined financial information gives effect to the acquisition by MatchNet plc of certain assets of Point Match Ltd., an Israeli corporation, on January 16, 2004, for approximately $6.3 million. This transaction was determined to be a business acquisition, and was recorded under the purchase method of accounting with approximately $5.7 million being allocated to goodwill, $430,000 to member database, $130,000 to subscriber databases and $30,000 to domain name.
The unaudited pro forma combined financial information is for illustrative purposes only and reflects certain estimates and assumptions. These unaudited pro forma combined financial statements should be read in conjunction with the accompanying notes, MatchNet plc’s historical consolidated financial statements and Point Match Ltd.’s historical financial statements, including the notes thereto, and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” all of which are included elsewhere in this prospectus.
The unaudited pro forma combined statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2003 gives effect to the acquisition of Point Match Ltd. in January 2004, as if it had been completed on January 1, 2003. MatchNet plc’s historical June 30, 2004 consolidated balance sheet, which is included elsewhere in this prospectus, already reflects the acquisition in the consolidated results. MatchNet plc’s historical combined financial statements include the results of operations of Point Match Ltd. from its acquisition date (January 16, 2004) to June 30, 2004.
The unaudited pro forma combined financial statements are not necessarily indicative of operating results which would have been achieved had the foregoing transaction actually been completed at the beginning of the subject periods and should not be construed as representative of future operating results.
29
Pro Forma Combined Statement Of Operations
| Year Ended December 31, 2003 | Six Months Ended June 30, 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Point | Pro Forma | Pro Forma | Pro Forma | Pro Forma | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MatchNet | Match(1) | Adjustments | Combined | MatchNet | Adjustments | Combined | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands except per share amounts) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net revenues
|
$ | 36,941 | $ | 2,110 | — | $ | 39,051 | $ | 30,862 | $ | 86 | (3) | $ | 30,948 | |||||||||||||||
|
Operating expenses:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Marketing
|
19,333 | 435 | — | 19,768 | 17,080 | 18 | (3) | 17,098 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Customer service
|
2,536 | — | — | 2,536 | 1,878 | — | (3) | 1,878 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Technical operations
|
4,341 | 320 | — | 4,661 | 3,318 | 13 | (3) | 3,331 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Product development
|
928 | 416 | — | 1,344 | 706 | 17 | (3) | 723 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
General and administrative (excludes stock-based
compensation)
|
16,885 | 1,807 | — | 18,692 | 12,078 | 74 | (3) | 12,152 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
Stock-based compensation
|
1,871 | — | — | 1,871 | 2,401 | — | 2,401 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Amortization of goodwill and intangible assets
|
555 | — | 274 | (2) | 829 | 482 | (124) | (2) | 358 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill
|
1,532 | — | — | 1,532 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Total operating expenses
|
47,981 | 2,978 | 274 | 51,233 | 37,943 | (2) | 37,941 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating loss
|
(11,040 | ) | (868 | ) | (274 | ) | (12,182 | ) | (7,081 | ) | 88 | (6,993 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
|
Interest (income), expense and other
expenses, net
|
(188 | ) | — | 189 | (4) | 1 | 32 | — | 32 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Loss before income taxes
|
(10,852 | ) | (868 | ) | (463 | ) | (12,183 | ) | (7,113 | ) | 88 | (7,025 | ) | ||||||||||||||||
|
Provision for income taxes
|
— | (7 | ) | — | (7 | ) | 1 | — | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net loss
|
$ | (10,852 | ) | $ | (861 | ) | (463 | ) | $ | (12,176 | ) | $ | (7,114 | ) | $ | 88 | $ | (7,026 | ) | ||||||||||
|
Net loss per ordinary share — basic and
diluted
|
$ | (0.57 | ) | $ | (0.64 | ) | $ | (0.33 | ) | $ | (0.33 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
|
Weighted average ordinary shares
outstanding — basic and diluted
|
18,970 | 18,970 | 21,521 | 21,521 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
See accompanying notes.
30
Notes to Pro Forma Combined Statement of Operations
On January 16, 2004 MatchNet plc completed the acquisition of certain assets of Point Match Ltd., an Israeli corporation, a company engaged in the management and operation of online personals sites. The acquisition was deemed to be an acquisition of a business for accounting purposes.
Certain reclassifications have been made to Point Match Ltd.’s financial statements to conform to MatchNet plc’s financial statements and are reflected in U.S. dollars using the average exchange rate for each of the respective periods.
The purchase price was approximately $6.3 million with $5.7 million being allocated to goodwill, $430,000 to member database, $130,000 to subscriber database, and $30,000 to domain name. We valued the identifiable intangible assets acquired based on a valuation performed by an independent valuation advisor. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, goodwill is not amortized, member database is amortized over a three year period, subscriber database is amortized over a three-month period, and the domain name is not amortized as it is considered an indefinite-lived intangible. There were no tangible assets or liabilities acquired.
| Pro forma adjustments giving effect to the acquisition of Point Match Ltd. are as follows: | |
| (1) Point Match Ltd. conducts its business at www.cupid.co.il in Israel and at www.cupid.com and www.cupidusa.com in the United States. The acquisition of certain assets excluded the operations of www.cupidusa.com. See note 9 of the notes to Point Match Ltd.’s consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for a summary of the assets and operations acquired. | |
| (2) To record amortization expense based on the fair market value of the intangible assets acquired. | |
| (3) Reflects the operating results of Point Match Ltd. for the period from January 1, 2004 to January 15, 2004. | |
| (4) Reflects a reduction in interest income that would have resulted from using cash to make the acquisition on January 1, 2003 (assumes a 3% risk free rate). |
31
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus. This discussion contains forward-looking statements about us which involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations, and include statements preceded by, followed by or that otherwise include the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates,” “may,” “will,” “continue,” “should,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including, but not limited to, those set forth below and elsewhere in this prospectus, particularly under the heading “Risk Factors.”
Overview
We provide online personals services, which enable individuals to post information about themselves on our Web sites and search and contact other individuals who have posted similar information. Our members reside primarily in the United States and we presently have members located in over 200 countries.
Our revenues have grown from $659,000 in 1999 to $36.9 million in 2003. As of June 30, 2004 we had approximately 9.8 million active members and 235,000 subscribers. We define an active member as an individual who has posted a personal profile or logged on to one of our Web sites at least once in the last 12 months. We define subscribers as members who have upgraded to subscriber status by paying a monthly fee that enables them to communicate with other members. We offer a number of Web sites for singles, most of which are differentiated by age, religious preference, sexual preference and geography. Our key Web sites are AmericanSingles, which targets the U.S. mainstream online singles community at a current subscription fee of $24.95 per month, and JDate, which targets the Jewish singles community in the United States and internationally at a current subscription fee of $34.95 per month. Our subscription fees are charged on a monthly basis, with discounts for longer-term subscriptions ranging from three to twelve months.
We have grown both internally and through acquisitions of entities and selected assets of entities offering online personals services and related businesses. As a result of each of these acquisitions, we have been able to combine the target entity’s existing database of online personals customers into one of our Web sites’ databases, with the goal of attracting these new members to our Web sites, retaining as many of them as possible and converting them into paying subscribers. A summary of these business and/or asset acquisitions is as follows:
32
| Name | Transaction Date | Strategic Rationale | ||
|
Cupid’s Network, Inc.
|
May 1999 | Expand into new markets, leverage an existing brand, AmericanSingles, improve position within the market. | ||
|
MeetMeOnline, Inc.
|
September 1999 | Leverage the positioning and membership database of an existing online personals service, enhance and extend existing brands. | ||
|
DoYouDo, Inc.
|
September 2000 | Leverage acquired intellectual property. | ||
|
SocialNet, Inc.
|
February 2001 | Leverage the positioning and membership database of an existing online personals service, enhance and extend existing brands. | ||
|
Agentscape AG (FlirtMaschine.de)
|
October 2001 | Leverage the positioning and membership database of an existing online personals service, enhance and extend existing brands. | ||
|
FaceLink Inc.
|
February 2002 | Purchase member database and Web site to increase services provided, leverage market position for marketing existing MatchNet services. | ||
|
Point Match Ltd.
|
January 2004 | Purchase member databases and Web sites from a leading competitor of JDate in the United States and Israel. |
Our future success will depend on many factors, including:
| • | continued acceptance of online personals services; | |
| • | our ability to increase brand awareness both domestically and internationally; | |
| • | our ability to attract a large number of new members, convert members into paying subscribers and retain our paying subscribers; | |
| • | our ability to sustain and, when possible, increase subscription rates for our services; and | |
| • | our ability to introduce new targeted Web sites, affiliate programs, fee-based services and advertising as additional sources of revenues. |
We believe that one of our key opportunities lies in our ability to significantly enhance our primary brand. With the exception of JDate, which is widely known among Jewish singles, our brands are generally not as well known today as those of our principal competitors. To address this we intend to launch a rebranding effort designed to heighten our brand recognition and attract additional active members and subscribers. We intend to change our name, establish the new company name as our primary consumer brand and consolidate our online personals services, excluding JDate, under this umbrella brand name. We also intend to spend a portion of the proceeds of this offering to institute a marketing program designed to further effectuate this rebranding effort.
In addition, our ability to compete effectively will depend on the timely introduction and success of our future Web sites, services and features and the ability to address the needs of our members and subscribers and respond to Web sites, services and features introduced by others. To address this challenge, we have invested and will continue to invest significant resources in order to enhance our existing services and introduce new services, which will include new targeted Web sites, as well as new features designed to increase the probability of communication among our members and subscribers and to enhance their online personals experiences.
We intend to diversify our sources of revenue by introducing online advertising. To date, substantially all of our revenue has been derived from our subscription-based services. We believe our large membership base positions us to earn revenues from advertisers that target the mass audience and niche communities we serve. We intend to leverage this opportunity by focusing our efforts within the next 12 months toward diversifying our revenue base through advertising.
33
The English Scheme of Arrangement
MatchNet plc was organized in September 1998 under the laws of England as a public limited company. Prior to the closing of this offering, MatchNet plc’s global depository shares traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. As of June 30, 2004, MatchNet plc had 15,327,694 global depository shares and 7,742,748 ordinary shares outstanding.
On the effective date of this offering, our common stock will be quoted on the Nasdaq National Market. Immediately prior to the closing of this offering and further to the provisions of applicable English law, MatchNet plc will effect the terms of the English Scheme of Arrangement whereby all of the global depository shares and ordinary shares of MatchNet plc will be cancelled and all holders of global depository shares and ordinary shares in MatchNet plc will become holders of common stock of MatchNet, Inc. in the same proportion in which they owned MatchNet plc immediately prior to this offering. In addition, all stock options and warrants of MatchNet plc will be cancelled and all holders of stock options and warrants in MatchNet plc will become stock option and warrant holders of MatchNet, Inc. on identical terms to their stock option and warrant holdings in MatchNet plc. We have received verbal assurances from representatives of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange that the Frankfurt Stock Exchange intends to exercise discretionary authority to suspend trading of the global depository shares of MatchNet plc on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange between the effective date of this offering, when our common stock will commence trading on the Nasdaq National Market, and the closing date of this offering. This verbal assurance has been given on a number of conditions, including that verification of the effectiveness of this offering be submitted in a timely manner to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. However, in the event that the Frankfurt Stock Exchange fails to exercise this discretionary authority, the global depository shares of MatchNet plc will continue to trade on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange between the effective date and the closing date of this offering. Immediately after the closing of this offering, the global depository shares will be delisted from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Pursuant to the English Scheme of Arrangement, MatchNet plc will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of MatchNet, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Substantially all of the shares of common stock issued pursuant to the English Scheme of Arrangement will be immediately available for sale without restriction on the Nasdaq National Market, subject to lockup agreements with the underwriters and restrictions on resale under Rule 144 that will limit resales by certain stockholders. See “Shares Eligible for Future Sale.”
Critical Accounting Policies, Estimates and Assumptions
Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an on-going basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to revenue recognition, prepaid advertising, Web site and software development costs, goodwill, intangible and other long-lived assets, accounting for business combinations, contingencies, and income taxes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Management has discussed the development and selection of our critical accounting policies, estimates and assumptions with our Board of Directors and the Board has reviewed these disclosures.
We believe the following critical accounting policies reflect our more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements:
| Revenue Recognition and Deferred Revenue |
Substantially all of our revenues are derived from subscription fees. Revenues are presented net of credits and credit card chargebacks. We recognize revenue in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and with Securities and Exchange Commission Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 104, “Revenue Recognition.” Recognition occurs ratably over the subscription period, beginning when there is persuasive
34
Prepaid Advertising Expenses
In certain circumstances, we pay in advance for Internet based advertising on other contracted Web sites, and expense the prepaid amounts over the contract periods as the contracted Web site delivers on their commitment. We evaluate the realization of prepaid amounts at each reporting period, and expense prepaid amounts if the contracted Web site is unable to deliver on their commitment.
Web Site and Software Development Costs
We capitalize costs related to developing or obtaining internal-use software. Capitalization of costs begins after the conceptual formulation stage has been completed. Product development costs are expensed as incurred or capitalized into property and equipment in accordance with Statement of Position 98-1 “Accounting for the Costs of Computer Software Developed or Obtained for Internal Use” (“SOP 98-1”). SOP 98-1 requires that costs incurred in the preliminary project and post-implementation stages of an internal use software project be expensed as incurred and that certain costs incurred in the application development stage of a project be capitalized. We exercise judgment in determining which stage of development a software project is in at any point in time.
In accordance with EITF 00-2 “Accounting for Web Site Development Costs,” we expense costs related to the planning and post implementation phases of our Web site development efforts. Direct costs incurred in the development phase are capitalized. Costs associated with minor enhancements and maintenance for the Web site are included in expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.
Capitalized Web site and software development costs are included in internal-use software in property and equipment and amortized over the estimated useful life of the products, which is usually three years. In accordance with the above accounting literature, we estimate the amount of time spent by our engineers in developing our software and enhancements to our Web sites.
Valuation of Goodwill, Identified Intangibles and Other Long-lived Assets
We test goodwill and intangible assets for impairment in accordance with SFAS No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” and test property, plant and equipment for impairment in accordance with SFAS No. 144, “Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.” We assess the impairment of goodwill, identifiable intangible assets and other long-lived assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Factors we consider important which could trigger an impairment review include the following:
| • | a significant decline in actual projected revenue; | |
| • | a significant decline in the market value of our common stock; | |
| • | a significant decline in performance of certain acquired companies relative to their original projection; | |
| • | a significant difference between our net book value and our market value; | |
| • | a significant decline in our operating results relative to our operating forecasts; | |
| • | a significant change in the manner of our use of the acquired assets or the strategy for our overall business; | |
| • | a significant decrease in the market value of an asset; | |
| • | a shift in technology demands and development; and | |
| • | a significant turnover in key management or other personnel. |
35
When we determine that the carrying value of goodwill, other intangible assets and other long-lived assets may not be recoverable based upon the existence of one or more of the above indicators of impairment, we measure any impairment based on a projected discounted cash flow method using a discount rate determined by our management to be commensurate with the risk inherent in our current business model. In the case of the other intangible assets and other long-lived assets, this measurement is only performed if the projected undiscounted cash flows for the asset are less than its carrying value. No indicators of impairment in goodwill were present in 2003. We had impairment charges related to long-lived assets of $1.5 million in 2003 in accordance with SFAS 144.
Accounting for Business Combinations
We have acquired the stock or specific assets of a number of companies from 1999 through 2004 some of which were considered to be business acquisitions. Under the purchase method of accounting, the cost, including transaction costs, are allocated to the underlying net assets, based on their respective estimated fair values. The excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair values of the net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill.
The judgments made in determining the estimated fair value and expected useful lives assigned to each class of assets and liabilities acquired can significantly impact net income. For example, different classes of assets will have useful lives that differ (e.g., the useful life of member database (three year amortization) may not be the same as the useful life of subscriber lists (three months) or domain names (indefinite lives)). Consequently, to the extent a longer-lived asset is ascribed greater value under the purchase method than a shorter-lived asset, there may be less amortization recorded in a given period or no amortization for indefinite lived intangibles.
Determining the fair value of certain assets and liabilities acquired is judgmental in nature and often involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions.
The value of our intangible and other long-lived assets, including goodwill, is exposed to future adverse changes if we experience declines in operating results or experience significant negative industry or economic trends or if future performance is below historical trends. We periodically review intangible assets and goodwill for impairment using the guidance of applicable accounting literature. We continually review the events and circumstances related to our financial performance and economic environment for factors that would provide evidence of the impairment of goodwill, identifiable intangibles and other long-lived assets.
Legal Contingencies
We are currently involved in certain legal proceedings, as discussed in the notes to the financial statements and under “Business — Legal Proceedings.” To the extent that a loss related to a contingency is reasonably estimable and probable, we accrue an estimate of that loss. Because of the uncertainties related to both the amount and range of loss on certain pending litigation, we may be unable to make a reasonable estimate of the liability that could result from an unfavorable outcome of such litigation. As additional information becomes available, we will assess the potential liability related to our pending litigation and make or, if necessary, revise our estimates. Such revisions in our estimates of the potential liability could materially impact our results of operations and financial position.
Accounting for Income Taxes
We account for income taxes using the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts and tax bases of the assets and liabilities. In accordance with the provisions of SFAS 109, “Accounting for Income Taxes,” we record a valuation allowance to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to more likely than not be realized in our future tax returns. As of June 30, 2004 and December 31, 2003, we had a valuation allowance that completely offset our deferred tax asset. Should we determine in the future that we will more likely than not be able to realize all or part of our net deferred tax assets, we will adjust the valuation allowance so that we will have a deferred tax asset for the amount we determine to be more likely than not to be realized in our future tax returns.
36
Results of Operations
Prior to this offering, the global depository shares of MatchNet plc traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany. Pursuant to the laws governing this exchange, we publicly reported our quarterly and annual operating results. On April 28, 2004, we publicly announced that we had discovered accounting inaccuracies in previously reported financial statements. As a result, following consultation with our new auditors, we have restated our financial statements for the first two quarters of 2003 and for each of the years ended December 31, 2002 and 2001 to correct inappropriate accounting entries.
The following is a more detailed discussion of our financial condition and results of operations for the periods presented.
The following table presents our historical operating results as a percentage of net revenues for the periods indicated:
| Six Months | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year Ended December 31, | Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2003 | 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Consolidated Statements of Operations
Data:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net revenues
|
100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | ||||||||||||
|
Operating expenses:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Marketing
|
24.8 | 35.5 | 52.3 | 53.9 | 55.3 | |||||||||||||||||
|
Customer service
|
6.1 | 7.4 | 6.9 | 6.6 | 6.1 | |||||||||||||||||
|
Technical operations
|
17.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 10.8 | |||||||||||||||||
|
Product development
|
3.4 | 3.7 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.3 | |||||||||||||||||
|
General and administrative (excluding stock-based
compensation)
|
52.7 | 48.8 | 45.8 | 33.1 | 39.1 | |||||||||||||||||
|
Stock-based compensation
|
0.0 | 0.0 | 5.1 | 0.0 | 7.8 | |||||||||||||||||
|
Amortization of goodwill and intangible assets
|
20.5 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 1.6 | |||||||||||||||||
|
Impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill
|
38.3 | 0.0 | 4.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | |||||||||||||||||
|
Total operating expenses
|
162.8 | 108.3 | 129.9 | 109.1 | 123.0 | |||||||||||||||||
|
Income from operations
|
(62.8 | ) | (8.3 | ) | (29.9 | ) | (9.1 | ) | (23.0 | ) | ||||||||||||
|
Interest (income) and other expenses, net
|
15.6 | (5.1 | ) | (0.5 | ) | (0.7 | ) | 0.1 | ||||||||||||||
|
Loss before income taxes
|
(78.4 | ) | (3.2 | ) | (29.4 | ) | (8.4 | ) | (23.1 | ) | ||||||||||||
|
Provision for income taxes
|
0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | |||||||||||||||||
|
Net loss
|
(78.4 | )% | (3.2 | )% | (29.4 | )% | (8.7 | )% | (23.1 | )% | ||||||||||||
| Six Months Ended June 30, 2004 Compared to Six Months Ended June 30, 2003 |
| Business Metrics |
Active members grew to approximately 9.8 million at June 30, 2004 from approximately 7.1 million at June 30, 2003, or 38%. This increase was primarily due to increased marketing efforts and the increased popularity of online personals services.
Subscribers at June 30, 2004 increased to approximately 235,000 from approximately 125,000 at June 30, 2003, or 88%. This increase corresponds with the increase in active members and improved conversion of active members to paying subscribers.
Average revenue per subscriber, which represents the inverse of subscriber churn as calculated below multiplied by the average monthly subscription price, decreased to approximately $74.00 in the six months ended June 30, 2004 from approximately $84.00 in the six months ended June 30, 2003. The decrease was primarily due
37
The subscriber churn was approximately 32% for the six months ended June 30, 2004 as compared to 29% for the six months ended June 30, 2003. Subscriber churn represents the ratio expressed as a percentage of (i) subscriber cancellations in the period divided by the average of the subscribers at the beginning and end of the period and (ii) the number of months in the period. The increase in churn was primarily due to a change in the revenue mix among our key Web sites whereby a higher percentage of subscribers at June 30, 2004 subscribed to our AmericanSingles Web site as compared to June 30, 2003. AmericanSingles typically has a higher subscriber churn than our other key Web site, JDate.
The average subscriber acquisition cost, which represents marketing expense divided by the total number of subscribers added during the six month period, was approximately $37.00 for each of the six months ended June 30, 2004 and 2003. In general, the costs of online advertising have recently increased, and these costs are expected to continue to increase as long as the demand for online advertising remains robust. Increases in the costs of online advertising may increase our subscriber acquisition cost. Commencing in late 2004 or early 2005, we expect to expand to offline advertising, such as television, radio and print, which may be more expensive and could increase our subscriber acquisition costs. As we initiate these additional marketing efforts to build offline brand recognition, we expect that marketing expenses will increase and that there will initially be a significant lag between the time we incur the offline advertising expense and the receipt of revenues resulting from this advertising spend. As a result, we expect that our subscriber acquisition costs will be higher in the initial stages of our offline advertising efforts.
Net Revenues
Substantially all of our net revenues are derived from subscription fees and to a lesser extent from certain promotional events, which accounted for less than 2% of net revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2004 and 2003. Revenues are presented net of credits and credit card chargebacks. We expect net revenues from promotional events to comprise an even smaller percentage of net revenues in the future. We also expect to generate revenues from advertising on our Web sites in the future. Our subscriptions are offered in durations of one, three, six or twelve months. Plans with durations longer than one month are available at discounted rates. Some subscription programs renew automatically for subsequent periods until subscribers terminate them.
Net revenues increased 99% to $30.9 million in the first half of 2004, compared to $15.5 million in the first half of 2003. The increase in net revenues is primarily due to an increase in subscriptions, as discussed above.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses primarily consist of marketing, customer service, technical operations, product development and administrative expenses. Operating expenses increased 124% to approximately $37.9 million in the first six months of 2004 from approximately $16.9 million in the first six months of 2003. Stated as a percentage of net revenues, operating expenses were 123% in the first six months of 2004 compared to 109% in the first six months of 2003. The increase was primarily the result of a higher level of general and administrative expenses and increased online marketing expenses. The increase as a percentage of net revenues was primarily due to an employee severance charge of approximately $2.4 million, and a non-cash stock-based compensation charge of approximately $2.4 million.
Marketing. Marketing expenses primarily consist of costs to obtain new subscribers and advertising costs. Marketing expenses increased 106% to approximately $17.1 million for the first six months of 2004 from approximately $8.3 million in the first six months of 2003, largely as a result of expanded online advertising campaigns. We plan to increase our marketing expenditures in the remainder of 2004 with additional online and possible offline advertising. The costs of online marketing are rising and are expected to continue to increase as long as the demand for online advertising remains robust. Marketing costs are expected to increase as we pursue our rebranding effort and are expected to increase as a percentage of revenues in the initial stages of our offline
38
Customer Service. Customer service expenses primarily consist of costs associated with our member service center. Customer service expenses increased 90% to approximately $1.9 million in the first six months of 2004 from approximately $1.0 million in the first six months of 2003, largely as a result of increased number of employees necessary to support the larger number of members. We expect these costs to continue to increase as we seek to further support increased usage of our services by our members.
Technical Operations. Technical operations expenses primarily consist of the people and systems necessary to support our network, Internet connectivity and other data and communication support. Technical operations expenses increased 83% to approximately $3.3 million in the first six months of 2004 from approximately $1.8 million in the first six months of 2003, largely as a result of the growth in the number of members and traffic (usage or people clicking on our URL domains to use our service) to our Web sites. We expect these costs to increase with any increase in traffic, unique users, registrants or subscribers.
Product Development. Product development expenses primarily consist of costs incurred in the development, creation and enhancement of our Web sites and services. Product development expenses increased 78% to approximately $706,000 in the first six months of 2004 from approximately $397,000 in the first six months of 2003, largely as a result of costs associated with technical enhancements to our Web sites. We expense these costs as incurred, unless they are required to be capitalized. Capitalized costs were approximately $325,000 and $448,000 in the first six months of 2004 and 2003, respectively. The amortization of these costs is included in this line item. We expect these costs to increase as we develop additional features and functionality on our Web sites in order to enhance our members’ experience and satisfaction and increase the number and percentage of members that become paying subscribers.
General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses primarily consist of personnel-related costs, professional fees, and occupancy and other overhead costs. General and administrative expenses increased 137% to approximately $12.1 million in the first six months of 2004 from approximately $5.1 million in the first six months of 2003, as a result of an increase in hiring people to support growth and an employee severance charge of approximately $2.4 million. We expect these general and administrative expenses, excluding the referenced severance, to increase as we continue to hire a number of key management personnel, including a Chief Financial Officer, Controller and General Counsel and pursue future growth opportunities and manage the increasing complexity associated with growth. We also expect these expenses to increase due to the anticipated increase in professional fees resulting from the English Scheme of Arrangement, this initial public offering of our common stock and our subsequent obligations as a public reporting company in the United States.
Stock-Based Compensation. Stock-based compensation is recognized over the vesting period of the subject securities and is based on the excess on the date of grant of the deemed fair value of the underlying shares and the exercise price on the date of grant. Stock-based compensation was approximately $2.4 million in the first six months of 2004 compared to zero in the first six months of 2003.
Interest Income and Other Expenses, Net. Interest income and other expenses, net primarily consist of gain (loss) associated with temporary investments in interest bearing accounts and marketable securities. Interest income and other expenses, net decreased to expense of approximately $32,000 in the first six months of 2004 from income of approximately $110,000 in the first six months of 2003.
Net Loss
Net loss increased to approximately $7.1 million in the first six months of 2004 from approximately $1.3 million in the first six months of 2003 largely as a result of the increase in operating expenses to expand and grow during the period and invest for future opportunities, as well as an employee severance payment of approximately $2.4 million and stock-based compensation of $2.4 million.
39
| Year Ended December 31, 2003 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2002 |
Business Metrics
Active members grew to approximately 9.5 million in 2003 from approximately 5.9 million in 2002, or 61%. This increase was primarily due to increased marketing efforts and the increased popularity of online personals services.
Subscribers at December 31, 2003 increased to approximately 190,000 from approximately 80,000 at December 31, 2002, or 138%. This increase corresponds with the increase in active members and improved conversion of active members to paying subscribers.
Average revenue per subscriber decreased to approximately $85.00 in 2003 from approximately $102.00 in 2002. The decrease was primarily due to a higher subscriber churn in 2003 and a change in the product mix whereby a higher percentage of subscribers at December 31, 2003 subscribed to our lower priced AmericanSingles Web site as compared to December 31, 2002.
Subscriber churn increased to approximately 26% for 2003 from approximately 20% in 2002. The increase was primarily due to a change in the product mix whereby a higher percentage of subscribers at December 31, 2003 subscribed to our AmericanSingles Web site as compared to December 31, 2002.
The average subscriber acquisition cost increased to approximately $36.00 for 2003 from approximately $30.00 for 2002. The increase was primarily due to online marketing efforts designed to drive additional members to our Web sites.
Net Revenues
Net revenues increased 125% to approximately $36.9 million in 2003, compared to approximately $16.4 million in 2002. The increase in net revenues is due to an increase in the overall use of our services, the number of subscribers increasing to approximately 190,000 at December 31, 2003 from approximately 80,000 at December 31, 2002. Substantially all of our net revenues for the year ended December 31, 2003 and 2002 were derived from subscription fees and to a lesser extent from certain promotional events which accounted for less than 2% and 5% of net revenues for the year ended December 31, 2003 and 2002, respectively.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses increased 171% to approximately $48.0 million in 2003 from approximately $17.7 million in 2002. Stated as a percentage of net revenues, operating expenses were 130% in 2003 compared to 108% in 2002. The increase was primarily the result of continued investment in customer service, online marketing and technical infrastructure.
Marketing. Marketing expenses increased 233% to approximately $19.3 million in 2003 from approximately $5.8 million in 2002, largely as a result of expanded online advertising campaigns.
Customer Service. Customer service expenses increased 108% to approximately $2.5 million in 2003 from approximately $1.2 million in 2002, largely as a result of increased number of employees necessary to support the larger number of members.
Technical Operations. Technical operations expenses increased 169% to approximately $4.3 million in 2003 from approximately $1.6 million in 2002, largely as a result of the growth in the number of members and traffic (usage or people clicking on our URL domains to use our services) to our sites.
Product Development. Product development expenses increased 54% to $928,000 in 2003 from $603,000 in 2002, largely as a result of costs associated with technical enhancements to our Web sites. We expense these costs as incurred, unless they are required to be capitalized. Capitalized costs in 2003, 2002 and 2001, were approximately $825,000, $572,000, and $290,000, respectively. The amortization of these costs are included in this line item.
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General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses increased 111% to approximately $16.9 million in 2003 from approximately $8.0 million in 2002, largely as a result of an increase in hiring people to support the growth in revenues, and the addition of new Web sites. General and administrative expenses for 2003 also included approximately $1.7 million in charges related to contingencies.
Stock-Based Compensation. Stock-based compensation was approximately $1.9 million in 2003 compared to zero in 2002. The 2003 charge reflected non-cash expenses associated with the issuance of stock options and warrants to advisors. We treated these options and warrants as variable and as a result will be required to recognize an increase or decrease in operations expense based on the fair value of such options and warrants on a quarterly basis.
Impairment of Long-lived Assets and Goodwill. In October 2003, based on business developments that took place in 2003, and on management’s opinion that rapid changes in technology reduced the fair value of some of its property and equipment (mostly computer equipment and capitalized software costs), we recorded an impairment charge of approximately $1.5 million.
Interest Income and Other Expenses, Net. Interest income and other expenses, net primarily consist of gain (loss) associated with temporary investments in interest-bearing accounts and marketable securities. Interest income and other expenses, net decreased 78% to income of approximately $188,000 in 2003 from income of approximately $840,000 in 2002. Interest income and other expenses, net in 2002 was positively affected by a gain of approximately $400,000 recognized on the sale of domain names.
Net Loss
Net loss increased to approximately $10.9 million in 2003 from approximately $524,000 in 2002, largely as a result of the increase in operating expense to support growth during the period and planned for the future.
| Year Ended December 31, 2002 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2001 |
Business Metrics
Active members grew to approximately 5.9 million in 2002 from approximately 4.1 million in 2001, or 44%. This increase was primarily due to increased marketing efforts and the increased popularity of online personals.
Subscribers at December 31, 2002 increased to approximately 80,000 from approximately 45,000 at December 31, 2001, or 78%. This increase corresponds to the increase in active members and improved conversion of active members to paying subscribers.
Average revenue per subscriber decreased to approximately $102.00 in 2002 from approximately $134.00 in 2001. The decrease was primarily due to a change in the product mix whereby a higher percentage of subscribers at December 31, 2002 subscribed to our lower priced AmericanSingles Web site as compared to December 31, 2001.
Subscriber churn was approximately 20% for both 2002 and 2001.
The average subscriber acquisition cost increased to approximately $30.00 in 2002 from approximately $22.00 in 2001. The increase was primarily due to our online marketing efforts designed to drive additional members to our Web sites.
Net Revenues
Net revenues increased 58% to approximately $16.4 million in 2002, compared to approximately $10.4 million in 2001. The increase in net revenues is primarily due to an increase in the overall use of our services, with the number of subscribers increasing to approximately 80,000 at December 31, 2002 from approximately 45,000 at December 31, 2001. Substantially all of our net revenues for 2002 and 2001 were derived from subscription fees and to a lesser extent from certain promotional events which accounted for less than 5% and 6% of net revenues for the year ended December 31, 2002 and 2001, respectively.
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Operating Expenses
Operating expenses increased 4% to approximately $17.7 million in 2002 from approximately $17.0 million in 2001. Stated as a percentage of net revenues, operating expenses were 108% in 2002 compared to 163% in 2001.
Marketing. Marketing expenses increased 123% to approximately $5.8 million in 2002 from approximately $2.6 million in 2001, largely as a result of expanded online advertising campaigns.
Customer Service. Customer service expenses increased 87% to approximately $1.2 million in 2002 from approximately $641,000 in 2001, largely as a result of an increased number of employees necessary to support the larger number of members.
Technical Operations. Technical operations expenses decreased 11% to approximately $1.6 million in 2002 from approximately $1.8 million in 2001, largely as a result of renegotiation of our data center contract.
Product Development. Product development expenses increased 69% to approximately $603,000 in 2002 from approximately $357,000 in 2001, largely as a result of costs associated with technical enhancements to our Web sites. We expense these costs as incurred, unless they are required to be capitalized. Capitalized costs in 2002 and 2001, were approximately $572,000, and $290,000, respectively. The amortization of these costs are included in this line item.
General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses increased 45% to approximately $8.0 million in 2002 from approximately $5.5 million in 2001, largely as a result of an increase in hiring people to support the growth in revenues, and the addition of new products.
Impairment of Long-lived Assets and Goodwill. In 2001, we recorded impairment charges of approximately $4.0 million related to assets acquired as part of certain business acquisitions.
Interest Income and Other Expenses, Net. Interest income and other expenses, net increased to income of approximately $840,000 in 2002 from approximately $1.6 million in expense in 2001. Interest income and other expenses, net in 2002 was positively affected by a gain of approximately $400,000 recognized on the sale of domain names.
Net Loss
Net loss decreased to approximately $524,000 in 2002 from approximately $8.2 million in 2001, largely as a result of impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill of approximately $4.0 million related to the acquisition of SocialNet and the amortization of goodwill and intangible assets of approximately $2.1 million in 2001 versus approximately $524,000 in 2002 partially offset by increased investment in marketing and infrastructure.
Quarterly Results of Operations
You should read the following tables presenting our quarterly results of operations in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes contained elsewhere in this prospectus. We have prepared the unaudited information on substantially the same basis as our audited consolidated financial statements which, in the opinions of management, includes all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, except as otherwise indicated, necessary for the presentation of the results of operations for such periods. You should also keep in mind, as you read the following tables, that our operating results for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of results for any future quarters or for a full year.
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| Three Months Ended | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mar 31, | Jun 30, | Sep 30, | Dec 31, | Jun 30, | Sep 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | 2002 | 2002 | 2002 | Mar 31, | 2003 | 2003 | Dec 31, | Mar 31, | Jun 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (1) | (1) | (1) | 2003 | (1) | (1) | 2003 | 2004 | 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:
(in thousands) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net revenues
|
$ | 3,483 | $ | 3,630 | $ | 3,955 | $ | 5,284 | $ | 7,036 | $ | 8,423 | $ | 9,792 | $ | 11,690 | $ | 15,050 | $ | 15,812 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Operating expenses:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Marketing
|
950 | 1,361 | 1,197 | 2,291 | 3,515 | 4,811 | 4,443 | 6,564 | 7,129 | 9,951 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Customer service
|
299 | 279 | 276 | 353 | 563 | 458 | 736 | 779 | 975 | 903 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Technical operations
|
406 | 330 | 423 | 428 | 819 | 994 | 1,024 | 1,504 | 1,344 | 1,974 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Product development
|
145 | 130 | 167 | 161 | 168 | 229 | 82 | 449 | 279 | 427 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
General and administrative (excluding stock-based
compensation)
|
1,590 | 1,759 | 1,561 | 3,086 | 2,483 | 2,628 | 6,025 | 5,749 | 6,383 | 5,695 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Stock-based compensation
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1,871 | 1,712 | 689 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Amortization of goodwill and intangible assets
|
3 | 11 | 7 | 503 | 131 | 58 | 200 | 166 | 244 | 238 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1,532 | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Total operating expenses
|
3,393 | 3,870 | 3,631 | 6,822 | 7,679 | 9,178 | 12,510 | 18,614 | 18,066 | 19,877 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Income from operations
|
90 | (240 | ) | 324 | (1,538 | ) | (643 | ) | (755 | ) | (2,718 | ) | (6,924 | ) | (3,016 | ) | (4,065 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Interest (income) and other expenses, net
|
(52 | ) | (212 | ) | (206 | ) | (370 | ) | (53 | ) | (57 | ) | (22 | ) | (56 | ) | 4 | 28 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Income (loss) before income taxes
|
142 | (28 | ) | 530 | (1,168 | ) | (590 | ) | (698 | ) | (2,696 | ) | (6,868 | ) | (3,020 | ) | (4,093 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Income taxes
|
— | — | — | — | 1 | 39 | — | (40 | ) | 1 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Provision for net income (loss)
|
$ | 142 | $ | (28 | ) | $ | 530 | $ | (1,168 | ) | $ | (591 | ) | $ | (737 | ) | $ | (2,696 | ) | $ | (6,828 | ) | $ | (3,021 | ) | (4,093 | ) | |||||||||||||||
|
Net income (loss) per share — basic(2)
|
$ | 0.01 | $ | 0.00 | $ | 0.03 | $ | (0.06 | ) | $ | (0.03 | ) | $ | (0.04 | ) | $ | (0.14 | ) | $ | (0.35 | ) | $ | (0.14 | ) | $ | (0.18 | ) | |||||||||||||||
|
Weighted average shares outstanding —
basic (2)
|
17,954 | 18,516 | 18,707 | 18,460 | 18,707 | 18,736 | 18,960 | 19,449 | 21,286 | 22,264 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Net income per share — diluted (2)
|
$ | 0.01 | — | $ | 0.03 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Weighted average shares outstanding —
diluted (2)
|
19,333 | — | 20,063 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Business Metrics (3)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Active members (in thousands) (4)
|
4,300 | 5,400 | 5,700 | 5,900 | 6,700 | 7,100 | 8,500 | 9,500 | 9,500 | 9,800 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Subscribers (in thousands)
|
55 | 50 | 60 | 80 | 110 | 125 | 130 | 190 | 220 | 235 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Average revenue per subscriber (5)
|
$ | 110 | $ | 90 | $ | 117 | $ | 99 | $ | 88 | $ | 82 | $ | 81 | $ | 90 | $ | 74 | $ | 74 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Subscriber churn(6)
|
20% | 25% | 19% | 24% | 28% | 29% | 30% | 27% | 33% | 31% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Average subscriber acquisition cost (7)
|
$ | 18 | $ | 38 | $ | 28 | $ | 32 | $ | 33 | $ | 40 | $ | 38 | $ | 35 | $ | 31 | $ | 44 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| (1) | These amounts in consolidated statements of operations data are restated from amounts contained in previously filed quarterly reports with the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. See “Risk Factors—We Face Risks Related to Our Recent Accounting Restatements.” | |
| (2) | For information regarding the computation of per share amounts, refer to note 1 of our consolidated financial statements. | |
| (3) | All business metrics are full period, except active members and subscribers, which are as of period end. | |
| (4) | Represents individuals who posted a personal profile on one of our Web sites or logged on to that Web site at least once in the 12 months preceding the period end date. | |
| (5) | Represents the inverse of subscriber churn as calculated in note (6) below, multiplied by the average monthly subscription price. | |
| (6) | Subscriber churn represents a ratio, expressed as a percentage, of (i) subscriber cancellations in the period divided by the average of the subscribers at the beginning and end of the period and (ii) the number of months in the period. Subscriber cancellations represents the sum of subscribers at the beginning of the period and subscribers added during the period less subscribers at the end of the period. | |
| (7) | Represents marketing expense divided by the gross number of subscribers added during the period. |
Liquidity and Capital Resources
At June 30, 2004, we had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of approximately $9.5 million. We have historically financed our operations with internally generated funds and offerings of equity securities. We have no revolving or term credit facilities.
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Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities was approximately ($1.0) million and $1.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2004 and 2003 respectively. Net cash provided by operating activities was approximately $2.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2003 which was comparable to approximately $2.1 million and ($2.7 million) for the years ended December 31, 2002 and 2001, respectively.
Net cash used in investing activities was approximately $7.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2004. Cash related to investing activities was used primarily for acquisitions requiring approximately $4.2 million and capital expenditures of approximately $3.6 million. Net cash used in investing activities was approximately $313,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2003. Net cash used in investing activities was approximately $1.5 million, $5.2 million and $4.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2003, 2002 and 2001, respectively. The change in 2003 primarily reflects the sale of marketable securities partially offset by the purchase of capital equipment and the deposit for the acquisition of a business.
Net cash provided by financing activities was approximately $12.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2004, which consisted primarily of net proceeds from the issuance of equity securities. Net cash provided by financing activities was approximately $35,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2003. Net cash provided by financing activities was approximately $895,000, $790,000 and $173,000 for the years ended December 31, 2003, 2002 and 2001 respectively.
For the six months ended June 30, 2004 and the year ended December 31, 2003, we had capital expenditures of approximately $3.6 million and $2.7 million, respectively. We currently estimate capital expenditures of approximately $7.0 to $8.0 million and $8.0 to $9.0 million for the years ending December 31, 2004 and 2005 respectively, primarily for computer hardware and software.
We currently anticipate that the proceeds of this offering, existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities and cash flow from operations will be sufficient to meet our anticipated needs for working capital, operating expenses and capital expenditures for at least the next 12 months. We may need to raise additional funds in the future to fund more aggressive brand promotions and rapid expansion, develop newer or enhanced services, respond to competitive pressures or acquire complementary businesses, technologies or services. Such additional financing may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all. If additional funds are not available or not available on acceptable terms, we may not be able to fund our expansion, promote our brands, take advantage of acquisition opportunities, develop or enhance services or respond to competitive pressures.
Contractual Payment Obligations
The following table describes our contractual commitments and obligations as of December 31, 2003 (in thousands):
| Less than | 1-3 | 4-5 | More than | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 year | years | years | 5 years | Total | |||||||||||||||||
|
Capital leases
|
$ | 352 | $ | 167 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 519 | |||||||||||
|
Operating leases
|
572 | 1,195 | — | — | 1,767 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Other commitments and obligations
|
482 | 514 | — | — | 996 | ||||||||||||||||
|
Total contractual obligations
|
$ | 1,406 | $ | 1,876 | $ | — | $ | — | $ | 3,282 | |||||||||||
Other commitments and obligations is comprised of contracts with software licensing, communications, computer hosting, and marketing service providers. These amounts totaled $482,000 for less than one year and $514,000 between one and three years. Contracts with other service providers are for 30 day terms or less.
Interest Rate Risk
Our exposure to market rate risk for changes in interest rates relates primarily to our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. We have not used derivative financial instruments to mitigate such risk. We invest our excess cash in debt instruments of the U.S. Government and its agencies.
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Investments in both fixed-rate and floating-rate interest-earning instruments carry a degree of interest rate risk. Fixed-rate securities may have their fair market value adversely impacted due to a rise in interest rates, while floating-rate securities may produce less income than expected if interest rates fall. Due in part to these factors, our future investment income may fall short of expectations due to changes in interest rates or we may suffer losses in principal if forced to sell securities which have declined in market value due to changes in interest rates.
Foreign Currency Exchange Risk
As we increase our operations in international markets we may become exposed to potentially volatile movements in currency exchange rates. Foreign exchange gains and losses were not material to our earnings for the six months ended June 30, 2004 and 2003 and the years ended December 31, 2003, 2002 and 2001.
Change in Accountants
On March 23, 2004, upon the authorization of our board of directors, we dismissed Stonefield Josephson and engaged Ernst & Young LLP as our independent auditors.
During the years ended December 31, 2003 and 2002, and the subsequent period from January 1, 2004 to March 23, 2004, Stonefield Josephson did not have any disagreement with us on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedure, which disagreements, if not resolved to the satisfaction of Stonefield Josephson, would have caused them to make reference to the subject matter of the disagreement in connection with their reports on our financial statements for such years. The reports of Stonefield Josephson on financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2002 and 2001 did not contain an adverse opinion or disclaimer of opinion, and were not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles. We did not consult with Ernst & Young LLP on any financial or accounting reporting matters before its appointment.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, during the course of the preparation of our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2003, we discovered accounting inaccuracies in previously reported financial statements, including those for the years ended December 31, 2002 and 2001 that were covered by reports issued by Stonefield Josephson. Difficulties arose from differing views between Ernst & Young LLP and Stonefield Josephson regarding the necessity and scope of a restatement of 2002 and 2001 financial statements. Up to that point, we had expected to include Stonefield Josephson’s reports on those years in this prospectus. However, we were unable to timely obtain concurrence from Stonefield Josephson that restatements were required and the extent of such restatements. As a result, we directed Ernst & Young LLP to reaudit the years ended December 31, 2002 and 2001 and we have restated our financial statements for these years and for the first two quarters of 2003 to correct inappropriate accounting entries.
The restatements primarily related to the timing of recognition of deferred revenue and the capitalization of bounty costs, which are the amounts paid to online marketers to acquire members. The restatements, which are in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles, pertained primarily to timing matters and had no impact on cash flow from operations or our ongoing operations. The impact on net loss for 2002 and 2001 was an increase of $1.0 million and $1.5 million, respectively.
Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance and Corporate Governance
As a public company, we will be subject to the reporting requirement of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we establish and regularly evaluate the effectiveness of disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting. In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, significant resources and management oversight will be required. We also must comply with all corporate governance requirements of the Nasdaq National Market, including independence of our audit committee and independence of the majority of our board of directors.
We plan to timely satisfy all requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Nasdaq National Market applicable to us. We expect that our Board of Directors will appoint a disclosure committee to administer our disclosure controls and procedures. We have taken, and will continue to take, certain actions designed to enhance
45
On an ongoing basis we intend to conduct a controls evaluation to identify control deficiencies and to confirm that appropriate corrective action, including process improvements, are being undertaken. We expect to conduct this type of evaluation on a quarterly basis so that the conclusions concerning the effectiveness of our controls can be reported in our periodic reports. The overall goals of these various evaluation activities will be to monitor our internal controls for financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures and to make modifications as necessary. Our intent in this regard is that our internal controls for financial reporting and our disclosure controls and procedures will be maintained as dynamic systems that change (including with improvements and corrections) as conditions warrant.
Our ability to enhance our disclosure controls and procedures, to conduct controls evaluations and to modify controls and procedures on an ongoing basis may be limited by the current state of our staffing, accounting system and internal controls. You should refer to the discussion under “Risk Factors — If we fail to develop and maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, current and potential shareholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our common stock.”
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BUSINESS
We are a leading provider of online personals services in the United States and internationally. We enable adults to meet online and participate in a community, become friends, date, form a long-term relationship or marry. In the first six months of 2004 we averaged approximately 5.3 million unique monthly visitors to our Web sites, which, according to comScore Media Metrix, ranked us as the second largest online personals property among United States Internet users. Currently, our key Web sites are AmericanSingles and JDate. Membership on our sites is free and allows a registered user to post a personal profile and to access our searchable database of member profiles and our 24/7 customer service. The ability to communicate with other members requires the payment of a monthly subscription fee, which represents our primary source of revenue.
As of June 30, 2004, we had approximately 9.8 million active members, which we define as members who have posted a personal profile or have logged on to any of our Web sites at least once in the last 12 months, and approximately 235,000 paying subscribers, representing increases of 38% and 88%, respectively, from June 30, 2003.
We intend to grow our business in the following ways:
| • | Expand our base of members in the United States and internationally; | |
| • | Increase the number and percentage of our members who become paying subscribers; and | |
| • | Add revenue opportunities through online advertising on our Web sites. |
We believe that one of our key opportunities lies in our ability to significantly enhance our primary brand. To address this we intend to launch a rebranding campaign designed to heighten our brand recognition and attract additional active members and subscribers. We intend to change our name, establish the new company name as our primary consumer brand and consolidate our online personals services, except for JDate, under this umbrella brand name. We intend to spend a portion of the proceeds of this offering to institute a marketing program designed to further effectuate this rebranding effort.
Our Industry
Overview
We believe that online personals fulfill significant needs for America’s 86 million single adults who are looking to meet a companion or date. Traditional methods such as printed personals advertisements, offline dating services and public social gathering places often do not meet the needs of time-constrained single people. Printed personals advertisements offer individuals limited personal information and interaction before meeting. Offline dating services are time-consuming, expensive and offer a smaller number of potential partners. In contrast, online personals services facilitate interaction between singles by allowing them to screen and communicate with a large number of potential companions. This medium allows users to communicate with other singles at their convenience and affords them the ability to virtually meet multiple people in a safe and secure setting. Moreover, online personals services allow people to learn considerably more about someone prior to an in-person meeting, through detailed personal profiles, emails and instant messaging.
Growth Drivers
Internet growth and broadband adoption. In 2003, International Data Corporation, or IDC, estimated there were 700 million Internet users worldwide and projected the number of Internet users to grow to approximately 1.1 billion by 2007. It is estimated that this will be primarily driven by growth outside the United States. In the United States, users are migrating to broadband connections which enable faster delivery of complex content such as online photos and streaming media, as well as instant messaging. IDC projects that 61% of Internet households in the United States will have broadband connections by 2007, up from 35% in 2003.
Growth in e-commerce. We believe broadband users have a higher propensity to conduct e-commerce transactions including the purchase of content and services online, as t