Friday, May 18, 2012

The Top 10 Web IPOs of all time (pre-Facebook, that is)


CNET - It wasn't long ago that the investment community was unsure if there would ever be a resurgence in IPOs. Just a few years ago, companies that, back in the late 1990s, would have jumped at going public, were balking at the idea, deciding instead to focus their efforts on growing and eventually being bought out. It was believed by some that another great Web IPO might not come along for many years.

But now, Facebook is set to change that. And by doing so, it will surpass some of the most prominent companies to ever bring services to the online world.

In the following slides, we're going to take a look at the largest Web IPOs in history, courtesy of a list compiled by Renaissance Capital, an investment-research firm that specializes in IPOs.

As one might expect, some of the latest big IPOs are included in the list, including those from Google and Zynga, but other, prominent companies you might expect to see won't be there. Renaissance's list is arranged by the biggest deal size in history, giving some additional sway to more recent IPOs that garnered huge cash in their opening.

So, without further adieu, flip your way through the slides to find out which Web companies posted the largest IPOs in history.       

Watch the Slideshow!