Classmates.com To Be First Social Network To File IPO

What is the name of the social network slated to be put first to the open markets?

That question has been dogging pundits and investors alike for quite some time. And now we’ve got an answer: Classmates.com.

Yes, Classmates.com. One of the few social networks so fortunate to be born of the Friendster era. The place marketed as the salvage yard for connections lost (and connections never had) among alumni of both elementary schools and collegiate environs. The website that seemed to have infiltrated exponentially more pages across the Net with it’s ad banners than it registered actual members, and still somehow manages to stay afloat. It’s going IPO.

The company, based in Woodland Hills, California, announced Friday its terms for an initial public offering, setting the starting stack at 12 million shares, which it estimates to be valued at $10-12 each. According to a report by Justin Moresco of Red Herring, “the offering will be underwritten by JP Morgan, Deutche Bank Securities, and Goldman Sachs.”

If you’re wondering whether Classmates is an independent entity going into this release, it is not. While it spent the majority of its 11-year lifespan (that’s right, came about way back in 1996) going it alone as an online business, it has resided since late 2004 under the ownership of United Online, a holding company responsible for items like MyPoints, NetZero, and Juno. (Yes, Classmates is clearly United Online’s most notable moneymaker.)

Well, a moneymaker in the sense that it is an active business, with offices and cubicles and a workforce. Not as far as actually profits are concerned. As of late, anyhow. And by “as of late” we mean the past two years or so.

While Classmate’s “recent” losses aren’t monstrous, having to tell potential investors that the company saw $8.2 million dollars worth of red tape in 2005 and was $1.9 million below the surface in 2006 can’t be a very good line to lead with. It doesn’t quite speak volumes of what it might or might not be accomplish in the months and years following the IPO to come, does it?

No, those numbers certainly don’t make for a sterling repute, but heck if we know how this offering’s going to turn out. Will it turn golden? Or will it do a Vonage and force overeager backers and buyers to throw fists through whitewashed drywall. Only time will tell.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I myself can’t prognosticate. I sense we’ll see a short-term jump and long-term decline. Why? Because Classmates.com is rubbish and a waste of perfectly good server space, that’s why. No offense to its managers personally.

What do you think is to come of the Classmates.com IPO, good or bad? Let us know in the comments!