NewsMax (NYSE:NMAX), an early-stage media company that leans conservative, listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange today (NYSE).
Shares initially were pegged to trade at $10 but quickly went hyperbolic, currently trading at over 530% higher, or around $65 a share. Share volume is currently around 6 million shares traded.
NewsMax recently closed a $225 million Reg D funding round, which was open only to accredited investors. Following this funding, NewsMax pursued a Reg A+ offering at $10 a share, selling out the sale, generating an additional $75 million. The specialist firm Digital Offering, LLC, handled both the Reg D and Reg A offerings.
The Reg A exemption was updated under the JOBS Act of 2012 – the legislation that enabled online capital formation or securities crowdfunding. The exemption enables a firm to raise up to $75 million under a qualified offering that may publicly solicit both accredited and non-accredited investors. The exemption also allows the issuer to immediately trade shares on an exchange if the issuer decides to do so.
NewsMax founder and CEO Christopher Ruddy spoke to CNBC today, explaining that he saw an opportunity to compete with Fox as there were no clear competitors to the center/center-right cable news platform. He said that currently,y they are just behind CNN, a cable news network that has stumbled from debacle to disaster in recent years as viewership has tanked due to perceptions of extreme bias and detachment from the electorate.
While NewsMax financials indicate the firm is still not profitable the additional capital should help it build out its news platform along with targeting sales for the growing network.
Founded in 1998, NewsMax is based in Boca Raton, Florida – a favorite state for conservatives, but the company also has offices in New York City and Washington, DC.
Retail investors who purchased shares before the IPO may choose to hold or sell their shares. But one day’s gains do not always lead to higher prices tomorrow. Still, the option to participate in the NewsMax private securities offering is currently a big win for smaller investors.
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