October 15, 2003 -- Internet exchange operator Equinix Inc. hopes to sell as much as $150 million worth of common stock in coming months, according to a filing the company has made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The news caps a year of spectacular recovery for Equinix, which has seen its share price surge from $3.39 on May 1 to as high as $22. Equinix stock stood at $18.40 a share, down about 4 percent, in mid-morning trading.
Today's filing, known as a shelf registration, sets no specific date for the sale of new shares, but allows Equinix to sell stock quickly when funds are needed or market conditions are favorable. Equinix indicated that it may sell shares as soon as the SEC process is complete. "If the SEC has no comment son this form registration, it is estimated this will take 7-10 days from the date of this filing," according to the company's investor relations web site.
The money raised by any stock sales would be used to fund "debt reduction, capital expenditures, acquisitions or data center expansions," the company said. Any sale of new shares would dilute the value of existing holdings, which is why Equinix shares traded lower following today's announcement.
Equinix has just over 9 million shares trading, and has issued options, warrants and convertible shares that can be exchanged for another 12.5 million shares.
The filing follows a period of consolidation and change at Equinix. Less than a 10 months after a complex series of deals created "New Equinix," the Foster City, Calif. company has transformed its balance sheet, expanded into the Asian market, and seen its stock price soar.
The Dec. 31 completion of the restructuring was followed on April 30 by an investment of an additional $10 million from Crosslink Capital, and the announcement of a series of new clients in its Asian operation, including Fujitsu and Telekom Malaysia.
Equinix has nine US data centers spanning 855,000 square feet. Seven of those centers are cash-flow positive, with a company-wide "fill rate" of about 31 percent of the usable data center space, according to Taylor. The company has 275 workers.
Equinix' customer list includes IBM, Google, Sony Online, General Electric, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, and Microsoft.
Equinix provides core Internet exchange services that allow Internet infrastructure companies, enterprises and content providers to grow, manage and control their networks.