Following on the heels of a similar move by competitor Zillow, real estate search and information portal Trulia will take advantage of its share price to raise $100 million in a follow-on offering.
Shares in Trulia, which have ranged from $14.69 to $38.22 since the company went public on Sept. 20, closed at $28 Monday. Shares were off by 5 percent in after-hours trading on fears that the offering will dilute the value of existing shares.
Although Trulia posted nearly $11 million in net losses last year, the company trimmed its net loss for the fourth quarter to $1.6 million, down 22 percent from the same time a year ago.
Trulia, which raised $89.4 million after expenses in its IPO, said in a filing with securities regulators that company management will have "broad discretion" in how to spend proceeds from the follow-on offering. The company expects to use "some or all of such net proceeds to acquire or invest in complementary businesses, products, services, technologies, or other assets."
The company has "not entered into any agreements or commitments with respect to any acquisitions or investments at this time. "
Rival Zillow, which went public in 2011, raised $156.7 million in a dilutive secondary offering that closed Sept. 24.
Zillow signed agreements in 2012 to acquire four companies — RentJuice, Buyfolio, Mortech and HotPads – and now employs more than 500 workers, up about 50 percent from a year ago.
