Trulia files for $75M initial public offering

Friday, August 17, 2012, Vol. 36, No. 33

NEW YORK (AP) — Trulia Inc., which operates the real estate website Trulia.com, on Friday filed for an initial public offering that could raise up to $75 million.

In its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the San Francisco-based company did not say how many shares it planned to sell or what they would be priced at. The $75 million figure is an estimate used to determine the filing fee and could change.

Trulia, which operates both a traditional website and mobile apps, allows people to research home listings and neighborhoods, while helping real estate agents market their listings. In the six months ended June 30, the site had 22 million unique visitors. And as of the same date, it had more than 360,000 active real estate professionals, with 21,544 of those paying subscribers.

The company's searchable database includes more than 110 million properties, including 4.5 million homes for sale and rent. Listings are supplemented with local information on schools, crime and neighborhood amenities.

Most of the company's revenue is generated by sales of subscription products to real estate professionals. Trulia also generates revenue from display advertising sold to real estate and consumer brand advertisers. In 2011, the company posted a loss of $6.2 million on $38.5 million in revenue, compared with a loss of $3.8 million and $19.8 million in revenue in 2010.

Trulia said it plans to apply for listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "TRLA." JP Morgan, RBC Capital Markets, Needham & Co., Deutsche Bank Securities and William Blair are offering's underwriters.

The company said it plans to use the proceeds from the offering for working capital and general corporate purposes, along with the possible acquisitions of other businesses.