Bazaarvoice Hints at Possible IPO
Key hires suggest the company is seriously considering going public.
Bazaarvoice may be exploring a public offering to facilitate future growth, rather than a sale or merger.
The social commerce company hinted as much today with the hire of Stephen Collins as chief financial officer. Collins is the former CFO and CIO of DoubleClick, helping ferry that company through its 1998 IPO. In a statement, Bazaarvoice called out that fact.
Meanwhile previous Dell and Motorola CFO Tom Meredith recently joined the board as its audit chair, and Bryan Barksdale was named general counsel with oversight of corporate governance. Barksdale was in the corporate securities practice of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a legal advisory firm that claims to help more U.S. corporate clients with their initial public offerings than any other law firm globally.
Additionally, Bazaarvoice also recently brought on a Fortune 50 CMO, Dell’s Erin Nelson, to replace its entrepreneurial CMO and co-founder Sam Decker. The company offers software for ratings, reviews, and other social applications; its customers include Best Buy, Costco, and Petco.
