Eden Prairie, MN
Went public 2/11/2000 at $15 apiece
Filing Range: 5 mil. shares @ $14 to $16
Shares Outstanding: 11.77 mil. shares
Underwriters: Prudential Volpe Technology
Robertson Stephens/Raymond James
FINANCIALS
(Data except per-share in $ thousands)
Y/E Y/E 3 MOS 3 MOS
12/97 12/98 9/98 9/99
Total Revenue $55,140 $47,647 $36,202 $41,147
Net Loss 14,206 -4,202 -4,466 -65,139
Net Loss Per Share .66 -.98 -.86 -37.79
The Company:
Fargo Electronics manufactures desktop systems and associated consumable supplies for the plastic card personalization and data encoding industry. Applications for the company’s technology include: corporate security and access; student identification and access; driver’s license, government and military identification; transportation; recreation and gaming; retail loyalty and discount cards; and membership cards and passes. In the past five years, Fargo has sold more than 38,000 card personalization systems. The company distributes its products through a global network of distributors and resellers in 97 countries. In 1994, Fargo introduced a digital desktop card personalization system with a retail price of $3,995, becoming the first company to bring such a system to market that cost less than $10,000. The company was also the first to introduce dual sided card printing capabilities and the first to introduce a system that prints, encodes and laminates a separate, more durable material onto the card all in a single system. With the introduction of a high definition printing system in 1999, Fargo was first to market with a high definition printing system that cost less than $15,000. High definition printing allows printing onto materials such as proximity cards and smart cards that have not been easily printable before the HDP system.
Proceeds:
Repay promissory note held by Robert P. Cummins, a principal stockholder ($10 mil.); redeem 30,000 shares of redeemable preferred stock and dividends ($34.06 mil.); repay senior credit facility with a syndicate of banks led by BankBoston ($24.89 mil.).
Venture Backers:
TA Associates Inc., St. Paul Venture Capital Inc.
Board Members:
Michael Child, TA Associates Inc. November 1999
Everett Cox, St. Paul Venture Capital February 1998