Newsmax Eyes IPO With Private Placement of Up To $225 Million — Update

By Ben Glickman

Conservative media network Newsmax plans to publicly list its shares later this year and is looking to raise cash ahead of the offering.

Boca Raton, Fla.-based Newsmax said in an investor presentation posted to its website that it was planning an initial public offering of up to $75 million. The company expects to list on the Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange in the fourth quarter or early 2025.

The organization is also launching a private placement of shares for up to $225 million, in anticipation of the IPO. The company's private offering will consist of shares of a series of convertible preferred stock, which would be converted to common shares at the close of the IPO.

Newsmax didn't file with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an IPO, but said it intends to do so in the future.

Newsmax gained viewers in 2020 around the presidential election, after giving airtime to former President Donald Trump's false claims that the election was stolen. The network later said there was no evidence for the allegations of voter fraud and election rigging, but continues to face defamation suits related to the claims it aired.

Prime-time viewership got another bump last year after Tucker Carlson's departure from Fox News. Fox's parent shares common ownership with Wall Street Journal parent News Corp.

Newsmax is offering a maximum of 30,000 convertible shares in the private placement, which will be priced at $5,000 each. The company can increase the number of shares sold by up to 50% if the offering is oversubscribed.

The shares will come with an annual dividend payment of 7% of their price, or $350 a share.

The company said that those considered accredited investors as defined by the SEC can invest in just one share, and "join Newsmax as a shareholder and owner."

Digital Offering, an investment bank focused on bringing offerings to retail investors, is acting as the placement agent.

Write to Ben Glickman at ben.glickman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 10, 2024 15:20 ET (19:20 GMT)

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