Hostopia to Close IPO Friday

Hostopia.com Inc., the wholesale Web hosting provider that announced in July it was going public, will close its IPO on Friday, and looks to generate less from the offering than it had hoped.

In its final prospectus with U.S. and Canadian government agencies this week, Hostopia said it expected to net approximately $19.1 million, in U.S. currency, or $22.2 million if underwriters buy more securities. That is down from its original projection of approximately $36 million.

Hostopia also made 4.2 million shares of common stock available, rather than the preliminary amount of 4.4 million. Share prices further were reduced from $7.10-$8.87 to about $5.30. A Hostopia spokesperson attributed the changes to shifts in market conditions.

The firm plans to use net proceeds from the IPO to invest in its application delivery platform, expand its Web services and branch out into the United Kingdom market. That move would include developing a network operations center. Hostopia also is considering acquiring or investing in other companies, it said.

Hostopia will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and has received conditional approval to use the symbol H. RBC Capital Markets is acting as lead underwriter of a syndicate that includes TD Securities, GMP Securities and Haywood Securities.

Hostopia.com Inc. www.hostopia.com