Long Beach Company Has Wall Street Presence

A Long Beach-based international data and payment processing company has opted not to follow in the footsteps of Facebook. 

Planet Payment, at 670 Long Beach Blvd., had contemplated an initial public offering (IPO), a private company’s first sale of stock to the public. Its executives instead listed on Nasdaq through a Form 10 filing on Dec. 17, 2012, effectively making the company's presence known on Wall Street, Long Island Business News [paid link] reports.

Planet Payment has listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2006 and has already issued $50 million shares, but executives said they didn’t think it was time to raise money at current prices on what is considered a dodgy IPO market that was underscored by Facebook’s public offering last year. Through Forum 10 filings, companies go public by buying the assets of a “shell” firm already listed on an exchange, according to LIBN.

Graham Arad, Planet Payment’s general counsel, told LIBN the Forum 10 route is less subject to the vagaries of the market: 

“We think it’s beneficial from a business point of view, strategically. We have customers around the world. It’s an easier story to tell that we’re a Nasdaq company with the corporate governance that entails.”
Established in 1999, Planet Payment provides financial processing for national companies that include Abercrombie & Fitch and international companies such as Hong Kong Disneyland, as well as the not-for-profit Long Beach Polar Bears Club, performing the organization's credit card processing for online sales, co-founder Peter Meyers told Patch.