LV company to go public

Tuesday, July 27, 1999 | 11:01 a.m.

The initial public offering of Las Vegas-based PurchasePro.com Inc. has been tentatively scheduled for early August by underwriter Prudential Securities.

PurchasePro.com hopes to raise up to $58 million in the offering, though the number of shares and price range hasn't been set yet. The company will trade on the NASDAQ under ticker symbol "PPRO."

PurchasePro.com builds "business-to-business electronic communities" designed to allow companies to put out purchase orders for online competitive bidding. It caters primarily to small and midsize businesses, although PurchasePro.com maintains relationships with a number of large companies, including Caesars Palace, Carnival Cruise Lines, Mandalay Resort Group, MGM Grand, Nevada Power Co., Park Place Entertainment, the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Phoenix Suns.

PurchasePro.com lost $7.1 million on revenues of $1.67 million in 1998. It had $7.5 million in cash as of March 31.