Bankrate IPO Could Value Company at $1.6B

Bankrate unveiled terms of its planned initial public offering on Monday that values the company at about $1.6 billion.

The personal finance website operator is offering 12.5 million shares, while certain stockholders, including a unit of Apax Partners and some company directors, will sell an additional 7.5 million. The 20 million shares will be sold at an estimates price of $14 to $16 each.

The company, which intends to list the shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol RATE, said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it will use the estimated $320 million in proceeds to repay debt and finance the deal.

Bankrate, which initially filed for an IPO in April of up to $500 million, will have 100 million shares outstanding after the offer.

The provider of personal finance information to consumers, from mortgages and insurance to deposits, served 10 years as a public company before being acquired in 2009 by Apax Partners in a deal valued at $571 million.

The company has been busy over the last few years executing acquisitions with tech companies such as CreditCards.com to bulk its offerings to advertisers and consumers.

In its latest quarter ended March 31, Bankrate swung to a profit of $5.1 million excluding certain items and said its revenue more than tripled.

With the IPO, Bankrate will join a group of private-equity backed listings such as consumer research firm Nielsen Holdings (NASDAQ:NLSN). The IPO comes amid growing interest in tech startups, such as LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD), which saw its price more than double last month on its first day of trading.