The Milpitas, Calif.-based company sold 4 million shares at $17 each yesterday. The shares were priced $1 above the top of the $14 to $16 range set by Lehman Brothers, which handled the transaction. The sale represented a 27 percent stake and gave the company a market value of $252.8 million.
NetRatings is majority-owned by Nielsen Media Research, the which measures U.S. television audiences. NetRatings also has a joint venture with AC Nielsen to measure Internet audiences abroad.
Shares of Media Metrix, based in New York, have more than doubled since their May debut. Media Metrix says it has more than 420 customers, while NetRatings has more than 170 customers.
"Our judgment is that this lead is for us to lose, not for them to take away, and we sure don't intend to lose it," said Tod Johnson, Media Metrix's chief executive.
NetRatings will trade under the symbol "NTRT." Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette Securities handled the stock sale, with assistance from Robertson Stephens and Thomas Weisel Partners.
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