Phone.com Inc., formerly Unwired Planet, entered the public realm with a bang last Friday with an initial public offering that proved exceptionally successful in a market where technology stocks don’t always fare so well.
The company commenced its IPO at $16 a share, the high end of the previously announced $12-$16 range. At day’s end, Phone.com stock closed at $40, a 151-percent gain, one of the day’s biggest earners at a time when most investors were wary of a possible interest rate hike.
“Everyone at the company is very pleased with the result of their hard work,” said Ben Linder, Phone.com vice president of marketing. “We were very happy with the IPO.”
He said the positive reaction likely was a result of the announcement shortly beforehand that Sprint PCS licensed the UP.Link Server Suite, as well as other recent licensing deals.
In an interview with Reuters, Phone.com’s President and Chief Executive Officer Alain Rossmann told investors to measure the company’s success by the number of telecom carriers adopting the technology. The more carriers adding the UP.Link Server Suite to their networks, the more potential users it will have. Also important is the number of handset manufacturers that add UP.Browser microbrowser technology to their handsets, for similar reasons.
Using this measurement, Phone.com now counts 17 network operator customers in the United States and Europe. Another 18 handset manufacturers have licensed the UP.Browser technology, including the most recent addition-NEC Corp.
NEC recently introduced a long-term strategic vision, called Empowered Mobility, under which the manufacturer said it wants to give users greater flexibility and more access to information. NEC said its upcoming handset equipped with the UP.Browser will be compatible with the Wireless Application Protocol specifications, the first WAP-compliant device from NEC. It is expected to be available in the first quarter of next year.
Also, both Ericsson and Nokia have created their own microbrowser technologies that are functional with the UP.Link Server Suite.
Phone.com remains in its quiet period for another two weeks, so officials could not comment further on the IPO. The following Monday and Tuesday, Phone.com stock began to fall, reaching $33, but began rising again on Wednesday to close at just less than $37.
Scott Wilson, of Edelman Public Relations, acting as investor relations consultant for Phone.com, said the option to buy 600,000 shares offered to underwriters likely was exercised, because such options usually are.
Phone.com said proceeds of the IPO will be used to develop new products and expand its sales force to achieve a more global presence.
In other Phone.com news, Reed Hundt, Phone.com board member and former Federal Communications Commission chairman, will deliver the opening keynote presentation at the Unwired Universe conference next month. The conference includes exhibits and demonstrations of WAP-based products and services. Phone.com is a founding member of WAP.
