Murdoch and sons survive News Corp annual meeting

Murdoch and sons survive News Corp annual meeting

Stock Market Predictions

LOS ANGELES (Global Markets) - Using contentious barbs and comedic relief, Rupert Murdoch deflected attempts by angry investors to remove him as chairman of his News Corp empire at the company's annual meeting on Friday.

The 80-year-old media baron survived what was effectively a no-confidence vote and also managed to get his sons James and Lachlan reelected as directors.

The octogenarian began the meeting with perfunctory comments about being personally determined to right News Corp's wrongs, saying it must be an ethical company and that it had been subject to fair criticism and unfair attack. But that was as conciliatory as he got.

Unlike his sons Lachlan and James, who sat quietly during the 75-minute meeting, Murdoch stood defiant in the face of tough questioning about News Corp's corporate governance, a proposal to strip him of the long-held chairman role that goes along with his CEO title, and fresh allegations of computer hacking that piggyback off the phone hacking charges responsible for putting Murdoch in his precarious position.

In addition to the roughly 150 people inside the Zanuck Theater on the Fox Studios lot in Hollywood, about 100 others stood outside, voicing opposition to the company and carrying signs that read, "Murdoch isn't above the law" and "Big Media, Big Money, Get Out."

Murdoch was feistier than he had been during questioning by a special committee of Parliament in July.

British member of parliament Tom Watson, Australian pension fund representative Stephen Mayne and Julie Tanner of the Christian Brothers Investment Service were among those who sparred with Murdoch. Mayne, a longtime News Corp antagonist, and Murdoch, who employed his familiar tactic of pounding the table to stress a point, circled each other like familiar opponents.

"It is time to get on the governance high road. You've been treating us like mushrooms," said Mayne, who has attended more than a decade's worth of these meetings.

Later, in response to Mayne's comment that he was not sure how he planned to vote his shares, Murdoch shot back, "I hate to call you a liar, but I don't believe you. I know how you're going to vote."

FIREWORKS

The real fireworks were supplied by Watson, who flew to Los Angeles to attend the meeting as the representative of 1,669 shares of nonvoting stock held by labor group AFL-CIO. At his first opportunity to speak, Watson noted the "deep irony" of News Corp using images of Prince William and Kate Middleton during its presentation since both were alleged phone hacking victims.

He said News Corp could face new investigations in the UK by the country's Serious Organised Crime Agency, stemming from the actions of at least three private investigators employed by News International, News Corp's UK newspaper publishing unit. Murdoch has failed to warn shareholders of the possibility of new civil lawsuits, Watson said.

"I promise you absolutely that we will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of this," Murdoch said in response to Watson.

Despite the animosity between the two, Murdoch jokingly defended News Corp's democratic voting process by pointing out that its Fox Business channel had featured Watson earlier in the day.

"We're fair and balanced," he said, referencing to the company's familiar slogan.

After the meeting, Watson told reporters that he was pleased to have had the opportunity to bring the issues to the attention of investors, even if board members "didn't choose to acknowledge the points I made."

"I made my serious points ... the board can choose to ignore me if they like," he said.

Watson said he was sure the issues brought up during the meeting would be put to James Murdoch when he returns to Parliament for more questioning next month.

CROWD SUPPORT

Murdoch had some supporters in the crowd, among them Haim Saban, the billionaire creator of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" franchise. Saban said he was shocked at investors' focus on corporate governance and said they should instead be looking at News Corp's strong operating performance. He also asked Murdoch if he had plans to revisit the abandoned $12 billion BSkyB deal.

In the wake of the phone hacking scandal, a group called Avaaz campaigned against News Corp's bid to take full control of UK satellite operator BSkyB.

Murdoch said the company does not have plans to put the deal back on the table, but added "never say never, though."

Another independent investor thanked Murdoch for creating "thousands of jobs across the world."

Since Murdoch controls 40 percent of News Corp's voting B shares and is supported by the next largest holder, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, there was little chance that Murdoch, his sons James and Lachlan or any other long-time serving director would have been voted off the board.

Shareholders reelected the media conglomerate's board of directors on Friday and failed to approve a proposal to oust Murdoch from his chairman post.

News Corp did not disclose the specific results, including how many investors withheld their shares from voting or how many voted against the directors, saying in a press statement that the company would file the numbers with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission early next week.

News Corp board chairman Viet Dinh took pains to defend the company's dual class stock structure by pointing out that Comcast, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and others feature the same structure. He also noted that shareholders voted to approve the structure as recently as 2007. Dave Devoe, News Corp's chief financial officer, pointed out that the company has not bought a single Class B share with the $1.6 billion it has spent on stock buybacks.

News Corp shares closed up 2 percent to $17.20 on the Nasdaq on Friday.

"The News Corp recovery in line with the market at the close would indicate that the Street approves of this status quo," said Collins Stewart analyst Thomas Eagan.

Separately on Friday, News International, the News Corp division that housed the News of the World newspaper at the center of the phone hacking scandal, said it would pay the family of murdered British schoolgirl Milly Dowler 2 million pounds (US$3.17 million). Murdoch will personally donate another million pounds to charities chosen by the Dowler family.

Dowler was abducted in 2002 and found murdered six months later. News this year that the tabloid had hacked into her phone after she disappeared caused widespread revulsion in Britain and elevated the hacking to a national scandal.

Among the many concerns for Murdoch aides is the possibility of further reputation damage and embarrassment.

Former News Corp executive Les Hinton, who resigned this summer, is due to reappear before Parliament for additional questioning on Monday.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles and Yinka Adegoke in New York. Writing by Peter Lauria. Editing by Robert MacMillan)

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BofA CEO faces investors, shares plumb lows

BofA CEO faces investors, shares plumb lows

Stock Market Predictions

(Global Markets) - Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan will have his work cut out for him next week when he speaks at an investor conference in New York, despite a recent uptick in his bank's stock price.

Shares of the second largest U.S. bank have bounced around a 52-week low and threatened to fall below $5 earlier this week, before central banks pumped more liquidity into the financial system and bank stocks surged.

Moynihan has been shedding assets to build capital and working to cut expenses to improve profits. But investors remain worried about the bank's mortgage liabilities and the strength of its balance sheet.

About the time Moynihan speaks on Tuesday, the bank will also make two top executives available for private meetings with investors.

The bank has notified hundreds of institutional investors about the meetings but only a few are expected to attend, a person familiar with the matter said. It often holds such meetings around investor conferences, the person added.

At least two of the investors invited to the private meetings with co-Chief Operating Officer Tom Montag and Chief Financial Officer Bruce Thompson have been selling Bank of America shares short, a trade that profits if the bank's shares drop. The bank may be trying to charm skeptics, one of the investors said.

Any communication with investors is a positive, said Jon Finger, a Houston-based Bank of America investor, who has been a vocal critic of the bank's recent acquisitions.

"There's a lot of fear and concern about the stock," said Finger, who was not invited to the meetings. "To the extent, the bank communicates with investors and reduces fear, the stock could perform better."

In one email obtained by Global Markets, the bank said it had room for eight to 10 investors to attend a one-hour meeting with Montag at the bank's New York headquarters. The former Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs executive runs the bank's global banking and markets unit and added the title of co-chief operating officer after a management shake-up in September.

Executives cannot give investors material nonpublic information, but they can reiterate comments that the bank has already said.

Bank stocks in general have been buffeted by concerns about the European debt crisis and the economy, but Bank of America's shares have been particularly susceptible to wild swings amid concerns about its capital levels.

Bank of America's shares closed at $5.08 on Tuesday, their lowest point since March 2009, but were at $5.63 in late afternoon trade on Friday. As of Thursday, the shares were down 58 percent this year, compared to 27 percent decline in the KBW Bank Index.

This year, Moynihan has made a number of efforts to lay out his strategy for investors but hasn't been able to assuage their concerns about the bank's mortgage liabilities and its ability to meet new capital standards.

The bank held its first investor day in four years in March, but Moynihan's comments about a possible increase in the

bank's dividend came back to haunt him when the Fed denied the request. In August, Moynihan participated in an unusual public conference call with fund manager Bruce Berkowitz but the bank's shares have continued to slide.

Next week, he will be one of a number of bank CEOs to give presentations at the annual Goldman Sachs Financial Services Conference. It will be Moynihan's first conference since his bank's board held a strategy retreat last month.

(Reporting by Rick Rothacker in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Lauren Tara LaCapra in New York, Editing by Dan Wilchins)

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Home Depot, Walmart, grocers get boost from Irene

Home Depot, Walmart, grocers get boost from Irene

Stock Market Predictions

NEW YORK (Global Markets) - Hurricane Irene sent East Coast shoppers into stores to stock up on essentials this week, instead of the clothes, notebooks and other supplies that retailers were counting on selling as children get ready to go back to school.

Chains such as Home Depot Inc (HD.N) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) were doing brisk business on Friday, selling water, flashlights, batteries and other goods in states standing in Irene's potential track from the Carolinas to Massachusetts.

"Most probably, the biggest demand right now is for generators, obviously," said Suzanne Roche, manager of a Sears (SHLD.O) store in Wilmington, North Carolina. "We have got customers calling nonstop."

Irene is due to make its first U.S. landfall in North Carolina on Saturday. The storm, which battered Atlantic and Caribbean islands including the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic, is then expected to head to the densely populated Northeast.

Those who were not trying to squeeze in one last summer stay on the New Jersey shore or Long Island beaches may have been planning to go to shopping malls to buy clothes, shoes and other items for children who will soon head back to school. Now those plans will be on hold.

"Nobody is going to go to a mall to buy a pair of jeans," said Richard Hastings, consumer strategist at Global Hunter Securities.

The back-to-school shopping season is the second-largest spending time for U.S. shoppers, behind the winter holidays.

The storm may dent the upcoming index of August sales at stores open at least a year by 1.5 percentage points, Hastings said.

About two dozen retailers, including department stores and apparel chains, are due to report monthly same-store sales on September 1. Analysts were expecting a 4.8 percent rise for August, Thomson Global Markets said on Friday.

The storm could hurt retailers like Saks Inc (SKS.N) and Tiffany & Co (TIF.N) if airports stay closed for too long or people cancel trips, said Morningstar analyst Paul Swinand. The hurricane hitting on a weekend worsens its impact, he added.

That pain may be compounded following New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's announcement that New York City's subways, buses and commuter lines, which serve 8 million riders a day, will shut down around noon on Saturday.

Chains such as Target Corp (TGT.N) planned to keep their stores open as long as it is safe for shoppers and workers, and to comply with any evacuation orders.

Walgreen Co (WAG.N) said it would keep many stores open 24 hours a day to meet demand for supplies. It was still deciding which stores may close because employees might not be able to get to work.

Retailers kept shoppers informed online.

Home Depot, Rite Aid Corp (RAD.N) and other chains posted details on their websites.

Whole Foods Market Inc (WFM.O), known for its array of organic and natural products, was communicating with customers through local stores' Facebook pages and other social media.

After rumors spread in West Hartford, Connecticut, that all local stores were out of water, employees of a Whole Foods there took pictures of all the water they had in the store and posted them on the Facebook page, a spokeswoman said.

POTENTIAL MARKDOWNS

If retailers have excess merchandise because they lose out on a weekend of the back-to-school shopping season, it "could lead to markdowns in September and October," said Keith Jelinek, a director of AlixPartners' global retail practice.

Hastings expects Home Depot to do well, as it has 35 percent more stores than Lowe's Cos Inc (LOW.N) in the affected region. He also expects Newell Rubbermaid Inc (NWL.N) to benefit from demand for storage containers.

Newell shares rose about 1 percent on Friday. Among battery makers, Energizer Holdings Inc (ENR.N) was up almost 2 percent, and Spectrum Brand Holdings (SPB.N) gained nearly 3 percent.

Drugstores and grocery stores should also see a sales lift.

"It helps the supermarkets most because people really stock up," said BB&T Capital Markets analyst Andrew Wolf, noting Supervalu Inc's (SVU.N) strength in Boston and Philadelphia, and Safeway Inc (SWY.N) and Ahold's (AHLN.AS) big presence in Washington.

Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co Inc (GAPTQ.PK) is stocking extra water, ice, bleach and other goods at its A&P, Waldbaum's and Pathmark chains.

WATER GOING QUICKLY

In particular, Irene could affect companies with a strong presence on the East Coast in terms of higher sales before the storm and potential closings once it hits.

BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ.N) said 96 of its 190 stores are in the storm's expected track. They are receiving extra deliveries of items such as batteries, flashlights, generators and groceries, and the Massachusetts-based company's buyers are working to get water delivered to those locations.

Wal-Mart, which has an emergency operations center in its Bentonville, Arkansas headquarters, is tracking how the storm may affect roughly 600 of its stores and distribution centers.

It has also offered its help to governments in states such as New York, where hurricanes are less common.

"This is obviously not something that they probably plan for on a regular basis," said Mark Cooper, Wal-Mart's new senior director of emergency management, "so we just want to make sure that they know we are available to assist."

(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan, Phil Wahba and Ernest Scheyder in New York; Jessica Wohl and Brad Dorfman in Chicago. Writing by Jessica Wohl. Editing by Robert MacMillan.)

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EBay shares slip on concern over U.S. Postal Service closures

EBay shares slip on concern over U.S. Postal Service closures

Stock Market Predictions

SAN FRANCISCO (Global Markets) - EBay Inc (EBAY.O) shares dropped more than six percent on Friday on concern the company may be among the most exposed e-commerce players affected by the massive post office closures at the U.S. Postal Service.

The move by the USPS will impact e-commerce because when consumers buy a physical product online it has to be shipped, and often in the U.S. that's carried out by the USPS.

The USPS is losing billions of dollars a year and Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe told Congress this week that it may default on a $5.5 billion payment due to a retiree health program at the end of September.

Donahoe wants to cut more than 100,000 workers, close thousands of post offices and end Saturday mail delivery.

"Any changes with any of the carriers that impact service are a big deal for e-commerce," said Dan Weiss, vice president of operations at Shipwire, which stores and ships products for online merchants.

E-commerce has exploded and has taken market share from brick and mortar retailers. Part of that success has been fueled by efforts to make online shopping much like an in-store experience, while offering very cheap and fast delivery.

"Turmoil at the U.S. Postal Service will make it harder to do that," Weiss told Global Markets.

Big Internet retailers, like Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), tend to use FedEx Corp (FDX.N) and United Parcel Service (UPS.N) rather than the U.S. Postal Service, according to Scot Wingo, chief executive of ChannelAdvisor, a software provider that helps merchants sell more online.

However, if thousands of post offices close, that will make it harder and more expensive for small and medium-sized online sellers, known as SMB sellers, to ship products, Wingo explained.

"That means eBay has the most exposure," Wingo added. "That's where those SMBs live and thrive mostly."

About 30 percent of eBay sales come from SMB sellers, Wingo estimated.

All the smaller online sellers on eBay's main marketplace will find it tougher to ship items. They will have to travel further to post offices, or pay more to ship using FedEx or UPS.

EBay shares closed down 6.7 percent at $28.46 on Friday, while Amazon.com declined 2.7 percent to $211.39. The Nasdaq Composite index shed 2.4 percent.

"EBay has historically relied more on small and medium sized businesses, as well as individual proprietors, as a source of activity, listings and transaction revenue," said Scott Kessler, an Internet analyst Standard & Poor's Equity Research. "It would definitely be one of the companies adversely affected by some type of restructuring involving the U.S. Postal Service."

Spokeswomen at eBay and Amazon didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about the impact of U.S. Postal Service changes.

(Reporting by Alistair Barr, editing by Bernard Orr)

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Metabolix hits life low as joint venture partner exits

Metabolix hits life low as joint venture partner exits

Stock Market Predictions

(Global Markets) - Shares of Metabolix Inc (MBLX.O) tanked to a life low, a day after agricultural processor Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM.N) terminated a joint venture with the bio-based plastics maker.

Metabolix shares fell 56 percent to $2.64 on Friday morning, making it the top percentage loser on the Nasdaq. They touched a life low of $2.58 earlier in the session.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company's shares were among the most traded stocks on the Nasdaq with over 6.3 million shares changing hands by 10:38 ET.

On Friday, Jefferies downgraded the company -- which makes plastics, chemicals and energy from non-food crops like switchgrass -- to "hold" from "buy," saying the joint venture termination illustrates "one of the challenges faced by the capital-intensive renewables sector."

On Thursday, ADM, the largest U.S. producer of ethanol, called off a joint venture for making a type of biodegradable plastics called PHAs, saying projected financial returns were "too uncertain."

The joint venture Telles, established in July 2006, sold PHA-based bioplastics in the United States, Europe and other countries.

Following the termination of the joint venture, Metabolix said in a statement that it would restructure its bioplastics business in 2012.

"In order to start up a new PHA operation, Metabolix will need to obtain new supply agreements for corn sugar and fermentation capacity," Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander said in a note to clients.

(Reporting by Divya Lad in Bangalore; Editing by Roshni Menon)

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Goldman Sachs subpoenaed for financial crisis role

Goldman Sachs subpoenaed for financial crisis role

Stock Market Predictions

NEW YORK (Global Markets) - New York prosecutors have asked Goldman Sachs to explain its behavior in the run-up to the financial crisis, the latest investigation that has cast a pall over the reputation of the largest U.S. investment bank.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc now faces probes by several government authorities into derivatives trades it executed in late 2006 and 2007. On Thursday, sources close to the matter said Goldman received a subpoena from the Manhattan district attorney, who joins the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission in examining Goldman's actions.

Separately, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is investigating Goldman as part of a broader probe into the mortgage operations and securitization practices of seven banks. A source familiar with the situation said Schneiderman's office met Goldman executives and attorneys in the past two weeks.

The probes follow a scathing report by U.S. lawmakers that cast Goldman as a central villain of the financial crisis and accused it of misleading clients about mortgage-linked securities.

The report by a Senate subcommittee, headed by Democrat Carl Levin, said Goldman offloaded much of its subprime mortgage exposure to unsuspecting clients as the market for such securities was starting to tank. In some cases, the bank dragged its heels when clients wanted to get out of their losing positions, according to the report.

The investigations do not imply the bank or its top executives will face criminal or civil charges, but they display a growing interest by prosecutors to build a case against Goldman, legal experts said.

"They have subpoena power to get certain records, correspondence, emails and they're trying to find out every last detail that could prove fraud," said Peter Berlin, an attorney who represents defendants in white-collar cases.

The U.S. Department of Justice is also likely to subpoena the bank, The Wall Street Journal reported recently.

The Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance, is not seeking new documents, according to one source, but wants to ask further questions about the information contained in the Levin report.

Vance, the son of former U.S. secretary of state Cyrus R. Vance, said earlier this year he wanted to use a far-reaching 1921 law called the Martin Act to toughen penalties for securities fraud.

The state attorney general's probe is largely being conducted under that statute, according to the source familiar with that case. The state can seek civil or criminal charges, while the Manhattan D.A. can only pursue criminal charges, potentially making its burden of proof more difficult.

Still, the Manhattan D.A.'s office has used the Martin Law to crack down on white-collar crime in the past. High-profile cases the office prosecuted using the Martin Act include brokerage firm A.R. Baron & Co and ex-Tyco chief Dennis Kozlowski.

In a statement, Goldman said: "We don't comment on specific regulatory or legal issues, but subpoenas are a normal part of the information request process and, of course, when we receive them we cooperate fully."

Both Levin's and Vance's offices declined comment on Thursday.

SCATHING REPORT

The probes into the behavior of Goldman and some of its peers signal increasing determination by U.S. government agencies to investigate the actions of banks in the years leading up to the financial crisis and to determine whether misdeeds by executives made the meltdown worse.

One of the first big cases was the Securities and Exchange Commission's civil fraud suit against Goldman last year over the bank's failure to disclose information linked to a complex mortgage security. Goldman settled those charges in July without admitting or denying guilt, but it did express regret for failing to disclose information.

Goldman's shares fell as much as 3.4 percent as news of the subpoena emerged on Thursday, but then took back much of their losses and closed 1.3 percent down at $134.38. The stock has been declining since January, but its sell-off has accelerated since the release of the Levin report and it is now approaching its 52-week low of $129.50.

Even if there is a low likelihood of successful civil or criminal action against Goldman Sachs, continued pressure from politicians and the public could still hurt the firm, Sanford Bernstein analyst Brad Hintz wrote in a note on Wednesday.

"We believe that Goldman's clients will begin to rethink their relationship with the firm and the franchise will ultimately suffer," Hintz wrote, adding the bank would be wise to make amends with the public soon.

But other veteran analysts said recently that concerns about the Goldman investigations are overblown and little will likely come from them.

JPMorgan analyst Kian Abouhossein raised his rating on the bank to "overweight" from "neutral" earlier this week and said possible negative news is already reflected in the bank's share price.

However, some investors take a more negative view.

"When the government has you in its cross-hairs, it takes forever to get out of it," said Matt McCormick, portfolio manager at Cincinnati-based Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel.

"Shareholders need to understand, this is going to be an ongoing risk for years."

(Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra; additional reporting by David Gaffen, Maria Aspan; editing by Dan Wilchins, John Wallace, Matthew Lewis and Andre Grenon)

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Yelp soars in market debut on Facebook optimism

Yelp soars in market debut on Facebook optimism

Stock Market Predictions

(Global Markets) - Consumer review website Yelp Inc made a sparkling market debut on Friday, buoyed by optimism ahead of Facebook's public listing and hopes for further successful public listings by Internet companies down the road.

Yelp's stock closed 64 percent higher at $24.58, a day after Yelp priced its IPO at $15 a share - above its indicated range of $12 to $14.

At Friday's closing price, the company is worth about $1.47 billion - about 17 times its 2011 revenue.

"If you look at it, there's been a very high trading volume, much higher than normal," said Scott Rostan, a former Merrill Lynch analyst who founded Training The Street, an investment banking school in New York.

Yelp could be benefitting from the optimism about Facebook's upcoming IPO, he added. "Investors are getting a little excited; there's a social media momentum."

Yelp's stellar debut follows those of other Internet sensations like LinkedIn Corp, Groupon Inc and Zillow Inc. But while those stocks made large first-day gains, they have since declined.

Groupon stock's soared as much as 56 percent on its opening day, but has since fallen below its offer price of $20.

Like Yelp, Groupon is losing money. Yelp generates revenue by selling advertising on its sites, where it has more than 25 million reviews of a range of local businesses and services - from plumbers and shoe-repair shops to restaurants and nightlife options.

Yelp also competes with Angie's List, which unlike Yelp charges for memberships and whose stock fell 5.4 percent on Friday.

"Angie's List charges for memberships. That will prevent growth. It can maybe grow to 2 million memberships, but there's a finite number of people who want to pay to access this content," Sameet Sinha, an analyst at B. Riley & Co, said.

"Their unique visitor growth accelerated in the past year and they are forecasting solid growth over the next few years," Sinha said.

The company, however, faces stiff competition from Facebook; Google Inc, through its recent buy of restaurant reviewer Zagat; and others like Groupon and Angie's List.

Stoppelman told CNBC that he was not fazed by competition from the likes of Google.

"That's a potentially lucrative market, which could be interesting for some big companies such as Google, Facebook to muscle in," Rostan said.

"It could make Yelp a takeover candidate. As a public company it is a little harder to turn down an offer and it could be a $2 billion morsel for an established company to enter that market," he said.

According to media reports, Yelp has rejected approaches by Google and Yahoo in the past.

AMAZON OF LOCAL ADVERTISING

The San Francisco-based company was started eight years ago in 2004 by former PayPal engineers Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons, when Stoppelman needed a doctor and online searches turned up only generic lists on health insurance websites.

Stoppelman, a computer engineer by training, told CNBC he wanted his company to become the Amazon.com Inc of local advertising.

"We're just scratching the surface of local advertising," Stoppelman said. "It's an enormous market."

Yelp had 66 million unique visitors and was used in 5.7 million unique mobile devices on a monthly average basis in its latest quarter. It was active in 46 markets in the United States and 25 internationally at the end of last year.

But the company has incurred losses since inception, and had an accumulated debt of about $41.2 million as of December 31.

In 2011, Yelp recorded a loss of about $17 million but saw revenue jump 74 percent to $83.3 million.

Like a slew of recent tech and Internet offerings and the upcoming Facebook IPO, Yelp will have two classes of stock - class A shares worth one vote each and class B shares with 10 votes each.

This structure is seen by many as a method to keep voting power restricted to the major stockholders as the outstanding class B common stock will represent about 98.7 percent of voting power following the offering.

Scott said this may be the time for more Internet companies to seek a public listing.

"In the IPO market there's a window of opportunity, when it's open you better rush through it before it closes," Rostan said, adding that LinkedIn's IPO in May last year created a window until about August.

"There needs to be some kind of event to open it (the window) and Facebook might be that event," he added.

B. Riley's Sinha noted that Yelp was a good investment ahead of Facebook.

"In general, crowd sourcing, social and mobile are the key buzz words for investors and Yelp hits them all. Before Facebook comes along, this is a good social and mobile play for investors," Sinha said.

Goldman Sachs is the lead bookrunning manager for the offering, while Citigroup and Jefferies acted as joint bookrunning managers.

(Reporting by Aman Shah, Tanya Agrawal in Bangalore and Alistair Barr in San Francisco.; Editing by Supriya Kurane, Lisa Von Ahn and Richard Chang)

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Topless Bipasha Basu with Vivek Oberoi TV Commercial

Ad! is viewed by more then 1000 people within few min. in uploaded on Youtube.

It's an uncanny coincidence that just as Bipasha Basu announced her plans to join Twitter, an ad film featuring the bombshell sans clothes has surfaced on YouTube. The ad also features actor Vivek Oberoi.