Zillow Is Planning Initial Public Offering, New CEO Spencer Rascoff Says
Zillow Inc., which offers online price estimates for homes in the U.S., is planning an initial public offering, Chief Executive Officer Spencer Rascoff said.
Rascoff, whose appointment as CEO of the Seattle-based company was announced earlier today, declined to say how much money would be raised in the IPO or when shares will be sold. He spoke in a telephone interview.
“We think of going public as a helpful tool to create a long-term company and brand that stands for information transparency in real estate and mortgage shopping,” the 34- year-old Rascoff said. “An IPO is not an end in and of itself, but it is an important stepping stone.”
Rascoff is taking over the CEO post from Rich Barton, a company co-founder, as part of Zillow’s long-term strategy to go public, Rascoff said. The company, which has raised $87 million in financing, runs the Zillow.com website. The site attracts 12.5 million visitors a month, Zillow said today in a statement.
The company became cash-flow positive this year for the first time, Rascoff said. Zillow has not yet posted a net profit, he said.
The company’s revenue comes from selling advertisement space on its website and through mobile-phone applications, Rascoff said. Zillow employs more than 200 people and is adding additional workers, he said.
Rascoff, who joined Zillow in 2005 as one of its original executives, has been chief operating officer since October 2008, overseeing marketing, finance, human resources and other day-to- day operations. He co-founded online travel company Hotwire.com in 1999 and became vice president of lodging at Expedia Inc. after InterActiveCorp bought Hotwire.com in 2003 for $675 million. Expedia was spun off from InterActiveCorp in 2005.
Barton, who has been CEO of Zillow since he co-founded the company in 2005, will be executive chairman, Zillow said today. Lloyd Frink, another co-founder who had been president, is becoming chief strategy officer.
To contact the reporters on this story: Lee Spears in New York at lspears3@bloomberg.net; Prashant Gopal in New York at Pgopal2@bloomberg.net.
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