Babylon files prospectus to raise $115m

The online translation company did not disclose the price range for the Wall Street offering.

Online translation company Babylon Ltd. (TASE:BBYL) has taken the next step toward a listing on Wall Street, despite concerns by some investors about the offering. The company has filed a registration statement, which includes a preliminary prospectus, with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to $115 million. The company did not disclose the price range for the offering.

Citgroup and Jefferies & Company are the joint book-running managers, RBC Capital Markets is the lead manager, and Needham & Company, Oppenheimer & Co., and William Blair & Company are the co-managers.

Babylon did not disclose how many shares it would offer, or their price, making it impossible to know the proposed company valuation for the offering. Babylon's current market cap on the TASE is NIS 1.5 billion ($410 million).

Babylon posted $121 million revenue in January-September 2012, compared with $39.9 million in the corresponding months of 2011. Google is responsible for 89% of Babylon's revenue. Net profit jumped 543% to $17 million.

In the prospectus, Babylon discloses executive pay. The salary cost of CEO Alon Carmeli was $698,000 in 2011, the aggregate salary cost of the five highest-paid executives (including Carmeli) was $1.8 million.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 6, 2012

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2012

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