A good alternative for an IPO

Many companies over the past several years have withdrawn their registration with the SEC for an IPO. Few, however, have landed on their feet like ExactTarget Inc., a provider of on-demand email marketing software solutions, which first filed to go public in September 2007. After withdrawing from the IPO process in May 2009, the Indianapolis company raised $145 million in venture funding, completed one acquisition, hired more than 200 employees and reported record financial results, including surpassing the $100 million in annual revenue.

The company was one of the many that started to help businesses more effectively market their products and services through email. ExactTarget, however, benefited from a "lucky break", namely that they were a customer of Salesforce.com, the pioneering software-as-a-service company. Seeing the benefits of using a SaaS platform themselves, ExactTarget followed Saleforce's lead and soon was offering an email service that could be easily utilized by small and large businesses.

After deciding that the company was better off staying private, ExactTarget was able in mid 09 to raise $70 million from Battery Ventures, Scale Ventures and Montagu Newhall Associates. Later in 09, Technology Crossover Ventures invested an additional $75 million.

ExactTarget utilized the additional capital to acquire longtime U.K. partner Keymail Marketing. The deal paved the way for ExactTarget to launch its international division. The company, which is profitable, ended with $114 in booked sales, which equated to $96 million on a GAAP adjusted basis. ExactTarget added more than 1,000 clients in 2009 and continued to beef up its offerings , which now include text messaging, voicemail, and social media. Its customers include a number of small to medium-sized business as well as such brand names as Expedia.com, Papa John's, CareerBuilder.com, Gannett Co., The Home Depot and Wellpoint.