Boingo's IPO gets tepid reception

Wi-Fi hotspot operator Boingo Wireless raised $77.9 million from its initial public offering Wednesday, but saw its stock close down a little more than 10 percent.

The company sold 5.77 million shares at $13.50 apiece. Of the shares of common stock that were sold in this offering, Boingo offered 3,846,800 shares and selling stockholders offered 1,923,200 shares. 

Boingo's stock--trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker WIFI--closed the day at $12.10, down $1.40. In after hours trading, the stock fell another 35 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $11.75.

Boingo operates 325,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in more than 100 countries and had 2010 revenue of $80.4 million. Proceeds from the IPO may be used to expand through acquisitions and for general corporate purposes, according to the company's IPO filing.

Perhaps the company's stock will be valued more down the line. The company has partnered with numerous wireless carriers and device OEMs around the globe to support its software. Further, Boingo is positioned to help wireless carriers offload data from their already taxed cellular networks.

Boingo provides service to Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad on an hourly or monthly basis, and has inked deals on Wi-Fi roaming with the likes of T-Mobile USA. In December, Boingo signed a deal with flat-rate carrier MetroPCS (NASDAQ:PCS) to have its Boingo Mobile app pre-installed on MetroPCS' Android phones as a data offload solution.

Interestingly Boingo founder Sky Dayton sold 421,374 shares in the deal and he continues to hold 3.9 million shares, or about 12 percent of the company.

For more:
- see this Forbes article
- read this Bloomberg article

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