Crains New York - November 19, 2012 - (Page 13)

P R I VA T E LY H E L D C O M P A N I E S REPORT INSIDE A new No. 1 The middle-class explosion in India and China puts fertilizer giant on top of Crain’s list PAGE 16 Flash in the pan? New Yorkers know a good deal when they see one PAGE 18 Giving up on IPOs, firms sell for cash How several top privately held NY companies grew by being acquired BY AARON ELSTEIN Earlier this year, a delivery service called Linc Logistics Co., a solidly profitable operation with nearly $300 million in annual revenue, filed to hold an initial public offering. By May, everything finally seemed in place for the Michigan-based company, which competes with FedEx and UPS, to raise $170 million in cash. Bankers at Citigroup and five other Wall Street institutions determined they could sell 11.3 million shares at a range of $14 to $16 apiece and put the IPO on the calendar to take place during the week of May 7. Unfortunately, Linc couldn’t quite cross the finish line. After Facebook’s highly touted IPO proved to be a bust, suddenly it didn’t seem so alluring to invest in a company whose primary business was moving equipment and inventory around for Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. Linc’s IPO was postponed; in July, the company pulled the plug by formally withdrawing its offering. The unfortunate story helps explain why a highly successful rival called Associated Global Systems Inc. elected not to take a shot at going public and instead decided to give up decades of independence earlier this year. Based in New Hyde Park, L.I., AGS is an established warhorse in the freight industry, founded in 1958 and with offices in 125 cities around the country. An IPO would likely have been warmly received, given the company’s track record. But instead, ownership decided to sell to a Japanese rival. Plenty of other private companies seeking capital are also choosing to shun the public markets and electing to give up their independence by being acquired. New York-area private firms that decided to be bought rather than take a crack at going public inSee ACQUISITIONS on Page 15 SCRUFF STUFF: Thrillist’s stylishly unshaven founders, Ben Lerer and Adam Rich, want to build on their ability to get guys to consume designer clothing while reading about hip culture. buck ennis They get dudes to shop Quadrupling revenue in three years, Thrillist could soon find itself a top NYC company BY MATTHEW FLAMM In some ways, growth has come easy to Thrillist, the media property that University of Pennsylvania buddies Ben Lerer and Adam Rich launched in 2005 as a daily email lifestyle guide to New York. Seeded with close to $2 million from Bob Pittman’s Pilot Group, the company turned a profit within two years as liquor and fashion advertisers sought to hang out with Thrillist’s hard-to-reach cadre of young, affluent guys. Within three years, it had email editions in seven cities and had moved its operations out of the office space it shared with The Huffington Post (co-founded by Ben’s dad, Ken Lerer) and into its current home at 568 Broadway. And even then the company had barely gotten started. Thrillist took off like a rocket after MALE ORDER Thrillist’s revenue, in millions acquiring young men’s flash-sale site JackThreads in 2010. Revenue the following year more than doubled, to $32.6 million from $14.6 million, according to the company. What is now known as the Thrillist Media Group—including deals site Thrillist Rewards—expects to end 2012 with revenue of $55 million, and has nearly tripled its employee head count to 215 over the past two years. It’s showing the kind of growth that makes the company a likely candidate for Crain’s largest private companies list perhaps as early as 2013. See THRILLIST on Page 14 * Projected November 19, 2012 | Crain’s New York Business | 13

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - November 19, 2012

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
SMALL BUSINESS
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
GREG DAVID
REAL ESTATE DEALS
OWNED COMPANIES
THE LIST
CLASSIFIEDS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - November 19, 2012