S-1 1 d555515ds1.htm FORM S-1 Form S-1
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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 9, 2013

Registration No. 333-            

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   7372   46-3044956

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(Primary Standard Industrial

Classification Code Number)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

10 Corporate Drive, Suite 300

Burlington, Massachusetts 01803

(781) 852-3200

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Hari Ravichandran

President and Chief Executive Officer

Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc.

10 Corporate Drive, Suite 300

Burlington, Massachusetts 01803

(781) 852-3200

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

 

Mark G. Borden, Esq.

David A. Westenberg, Esq.

Jason L. Kropp, Esq.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP

60 State Street

Boston, Massachusetts 02109

Telephone: (617) 526-6000

Telecopy: (617) 526-5000

  

David C. Bryson, Esq.

Chief Legal Officer

Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc.

10 Corporate Drive, Suite 300

Burlington, Massachusetts 01803

Telephone: (781) 852-3200

Telecopy: (781) 272-2915

  

Mark T. Bettencourt, Esq.

Joseph C. Theis, Jr., Esq.

Goodwin Procter LLP

53 State Street

Boston, Massachusetts 02109

Telephone: (617) 570-1000

Telecopy: (617) 523-1231

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement is declared effective.

If any of the securities being registered on this form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box.  ¨

If this form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ¨

If this form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ¨

If this form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer   ¨    Accelerated filer   ¨
Non-accelerated filer   þ      Smaller reporting company   ¨
(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)       

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

Title of Each Class of Securities To Be Registered   Proposed
Maximum
Aggregate
Offering Price(1)
  Amount of
Registration Fee(2)

Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share

  $400,000,000   $54,560

 

 

(1) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(2) Calculated pursuant to Rule 457(o) based on an estimate of the proposed maximum aggregate offering price.

 

 

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 


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The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. These securities may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell nor does it seek an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS

Subject to Completion, dated September 9, 2013

             Shares

 

LOGO

Common Stock

 

 

This is the initial public offering of shares of common stock of Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc.

Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc. is offering              of the shares to be sold in the offering. The selling stockholders identified in this prospectus are offering an additional              shares. Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc. will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the shares being sold by the selling stockholders.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. It is currently estimated that the initial public offering price per share will be between $         and $        . We have applied to have our common stock listed on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “EIGI.” Upon completion of this offering, we will be a “controlled company” as defined under the NASDAQ Listing Rules.

As an “emerging growth company,” we are eligible for reduced public company reporting requirements. See “Prospectus Summary—Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company.”

 

 

See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 15 to read about factors you should consider before buying shares of the common stock.

 

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission or other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

 

     Per Share    Total  

Initial public offering price

      $                

Underwriting discount(1)

      $     

Proceeds, before expenses, to Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc.

      $     

Proceeds, before expenses, to the selling stockholders

      $     

 

(1) The underwriters will receive compensation in addition to the underwriting discount. See “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)” beginning on page 144 of this prospectus for a description of the compensation paid to underwriters.

To the extent that the underwriters sell more than              shares of common stock, the underwriters have the option to purchase up to an additional              shares from Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc. and up to an additional              shares from the selling stockholders at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discount.

The underwriters expect to deliver the shares against payment in New York, New York on                     , 2013.

 

 

 

Goldman, Sachs & Co.   Credit Suisse   Morgan Stanley

 

 

Prospectus dated                     , 2013


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PROSPECTUS

 

     Page  

Prospectus Summary

     1   

The Offering

     10   

Summary Consolidated Financial Data

     12   

Risk Factors

     15   

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

     49   

Industry and Other Data

     50   

Use of Proceeds

     51   

Dividend Policy

     52   

Capitalization

     53   

Dilution

     54   

Selected Consolidated Financial Data

     56   

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

     59   

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

     62   

Business

     97   

Management

     109   

Executive Compensation

     115   

Related Person Transactions

     122   

Corporate Reorganization

     129   

Principal and Selling Stockholders

     130   

Description of Capital Stock

     132   

Description of Indebtedness

     134   

Shares Eligible for Future Sale

     137   

Material U.S. Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Holders of Common Stock

     140   

Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)

     144   

Legal Matters

     150   

Experts

     150   

Where You Can Find More Information

     150   

Index to Consolidated Financial Statements

     F-1   

 

 

Through and including                     , 2013 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers effecting transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This delivery requirement is in addition to a dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to an unsold allotment or subscription.

 

 

No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You must not rely on any unauthorized information or representations. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the shares offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of our common stock.

For investors outside the United States: Neither we, nor the selling stockholders, nor the underwriters have done anything that would permit our initial public offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the shares of our common stock and the distribution of this prospectus outside of the United States.

 

 

 


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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus. You should read the following summary together with the more detailed information appearing in this prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes, and the risk factors beginning on page 15, before deciding whether to purchase shares of our common stock. Unless the context otherwise requires, we use the terms “Endurance International Group Holdings”, “Endurance”, “our company”, we”, “us” and “our” in this prospectus to refer to Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries. References to “The Endurance International Group, Inc.” refer to The Endurance International Group, Inc., which is our primary operating company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc. See “—Corporate Information and Structure” below for more information. References to “Warburg Pincus” refer to Warburg Pincus LLC. References to “Goldman Sachs” refer to Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc.

Mission

Our mission is to deliver technology solutions that help SMBs transform the way they do business.

Overview

We are a leading provider of cloud-based solutions designed to help small- and medium-sized businesses, or SMBs, establish, manage and grow their businesses. We serve approximately 3.4 million subscribers globally with a comprehensive and integrated suite of over 150 products and services that includes initial website design and creation, email and commerce solutions as well as more advanced offerings such as scalable and on-demand computing, security, storage and bandwidth, online marketing, mobile and productivity solutions.

There are expected to be more than 76 million SMBs worldwide by the end of 2013,* of which more than 43 million will have direct access to the Internet.** We believe SMBs form the backbone of the global economy and will continue to serve as an engine of innovation and growth. Since our founding in 1997, we have focused on the needs of SMBs and have demonstrated a passion for empowering our subscribers to build their businesses and navigate the rapidly changing technology landscape. Our unwavering focus on serving SMBs has enabled us to amass significant insight into the needs and aspirations of our subscribers while developing a deep understanding of the challenges of serving SMBs at scale. We believe SMBs:

 

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are seeking technology solutions to address fundamental business challenges and opportunities, including those presented by the emergence of the digital era;

 

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require guidance and support in order to deploy and operate these solutions;

 

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face budget constraints which limit their ability to make large capital investments in technology; and

 

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are difficult to identify, reach and serve effectively, given their breadth and diversity.

 

*  The source of all data denoted with a single asterisk is Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc., June 20, 2013.
**  The source of all data denoted with a double asterisk is Access Markets International (AMI) Partners Inc., August 2, 2013.

 

 

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We built our company to serve the needs of this vibrant, complex and fragmented SMB universe. Our approach allows us to effectively serve this expansive subscriber base at scale while driving a business model with significant growth and strong cash flow.

Technology and data form the foundation of our approach. We leverage our substantial investment in proprietary, advanced technology to offer our solutions while relentlessly seeking to reduce the cost of serving our subscribers. In addition, we are rigorously data-driven, collecting valuable information throughout our business and applying sophisticated analytics to inform our subscriber acquisition, engagement and retention strategies and product development initiatives.

Our technology platform and data assets enable us to:

 

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deliver an integrated and comprehensive suite of products and services that helps SMBs grow their businesses and exploit new digital opportunities;

 

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intelligently engage with subscribers, consistent with their needs and in a manner that encourages their adoption of our technology to support and drive the growth in their businesses;

 

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provide compelling and affordable solutions to our subscribers; and

 

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efficiently acquire and serve different types of SMB subscribers through our multi-brand, multi-channel strategy.

Our ability to address the needs of SMBs, while leveraging our technology platform and data assets, has enabled us to grow rapidly, to create long term subscriber relationships and to build an attractive business model that generates substantial cash flow. During the past three years, our revenue grew from $87.8 million to $292.2 million, representing a compounded annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 82%, while our net losses increased from $44.3 million to $139.3 million. During the same period, our adjusted EBITDA grew from $25.1 million to $132.8 million, representing a CAGR of 130%, and our unlevered free cash flow grew from $26.4 million to $101.2 million, representing a CAGR of 96%. For an explanation of adjusted EBITDA and unlevered free cash flow and a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA and unlevered free cash flow to net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Industry Background

There are expected to be more than 76 million SMBs worldwide by the end of 2013,* of which more than 43 million will have direct access to the Internet.** The number of SMBs worldwide is projected to increase by 1.1 million in 2013, of which 770,000 will have access to the Internet.** These businesses are broad and diverse, spanning every industry and region of the world. SMBs collectively represent 99% of all private sector companies in the world and employ more than 90% of private sector, non-farm workers.*

SMBs are increasingly adopting technology to operate and grow their businesses. Those SMBs that utilize cloud services, including web, email and application hosting and data backup, generate 1.5 times more in annual revenues compared to those that do not deploy cloud-based solutions.* SMBs understand that the growth in global Internet penetration and the proliferation of mobile devices are changing the way in which consumers discover and transact with businesses. Increasingly, SMBs are seeking to take advantage of new developments in e-commerce, online marketing, social media and

 

 

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mobile to transform their businesses, or to build new businesses that were not possible before the advent of these tools.

As a result, SMBs are expected to spend approximately $96 billion annually on cloud-based services by 2015, representing a CAGR of 28% since 2012.*** We believe that this growth is driven in large part by the need of SMBs to respond to these digital opportunities. However, approximately 75% of all SMBs do not have a website today.** We believe that the opportunities presented in the digital era will further accelerate the adoption of cloud-based services as SMBs continue to recognize the importance of technology solutions to their success.

Over our 16-year operating history, we have developed a deep understanding of the diverse needs of SMBs and the challenges of serving them at scale. We believe SMBs are:

 

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Seeking to address fundamental business challenges and opportunities, including the emergence of the digital era.    SMBs are seeking comprehensive, flexible, reliable, secure and personalized technology solutions that address challenges and unlock opportunities to succeed in the digital world. For example, SMB customers are shifting their activities online and embracing mobile technologies, social media and e-commerce, which requires SMBs to deploy technology tools, serve customers and compete for business in new and innovative ways.

 

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Requiring informed guidance and support.    Most SMBs, particularly the one-to-five employee companies that represent the majority of our subscribers, possess limited technology expertise and resources. As a result, SMBs require informed advice and support on ways to improve their operations through technology and to take advantage of new opportunities at all stages of their lifecycles.

 

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Facing budget constraints limiting their ability to make large capital investments in technology.    SMBs want to leverage modern technology, but are looking for cost-effective solutions that do not require large upfront investments.

 

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Difficult to reach and serve effectively, given their breadth and diversity.    SMBs are fragmented in terms of size, geography, sophistication and type of industry. As a result, it is challenging to effectively market to, acquire and serve SMB subscribers at scale and in a cost-effective manner.

While SMBs represent the largest proportion of all businesses and are massive consumers of technology solutions in the aggregate, we believe that other providers have generally struggled to meet the diverse needs of SMBs for high-quality products, services and support in a comprehensive and profitable way.

Our Solution

Our passion for empowering diverse SMBs to navigate the rapidly changing technology landscape has led us to a solutions-based approach built on a foundation of technology, data and analytics. We address the challenges of serving this large and fragmented market at scale, in the following manner:

 

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We deliver an integrated and comprehensive suite of products and services.    We offer a compelling platform with a wide range of products and services designed to help our diverse base of SMB subscribers establish, manage and grow their businesses. By leveraging critical insights drawn from our proprietary collection of SMB data, we develop and expand our

 

*** 

Source: Parallels IP Holdings GmbH, “Parallels Global SMB Cloud Insights,” February 5, 2013.

 

 

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portfolio of products and services to provide the solutions our subscribers need and the functionality and features they value. Our cloud-based offerings allow our subscribers to select a customized set of solutions from among a broad range of internally developed and validated third-party products.

 

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We intelligently engage with subscribers, consistent with their needs.    We leverage our technology and proprietary data to identify subscriber needs and opportunities. This allows us to proactively engage with them via a myriad of customer engagement channels, including phone, email, chat, dashboards, an application marketplace and web video. This ongoing engagement allows us to offer the right solutions at the right time. We believe these capabilities, in turn, lead to greater adoption and deeper entrenchment of our technology and superior subscriber experience, thereby increasing our subscriber retention rates and revenue per subscriber.

 

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We provide affordable solutions to our subscribers in a cost-effective manner.    Our cloud-based delivery model enables our subscribers to address their business needs with minimal upfront capital investment. As a result of our relentless focus on operational efficiency and lowering our cost to serve, we deliver affordable solutions to our subscribers, by operating:

 

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an integrated, cloud-based customer-facing technology platform which permits us to efficiently deliver our products and services and add new subscribers. This technology platform allows us to optimize our investments in infrastructure, benefit from economies of scale and integrate new products and services seamlessly; and

 

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proprietary and unified operating and support systems which allow us to operationalize data insights, serve our subscribers intelligently and efficiently, and optimize our internal processes and procedures. We operate these systems across our subscriber base and all of our brands, allowing us to develop an integrated view of each subscriber and enabling us to contact our subscribers through the right channels and offer them the most relevant solutions at the most opportune times.

 

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We efficiently acquire and serve subscribers with our multi-brand, multi-channel strategy.    We leverage our proprietary data to implement a multi-brand, multi-channel approach that allows us to precisely target the SMB universe, identify the best ways to reach different categories of subscribers and tailor our brands and solutions specifically toward those audiences. Although word-of-mouth referrals represent the largest source of new subscribers, we also leverage online and mobile marketing activities, as well as our network of resellers, strategic partners and referral sources, to grow our subscriber base. Our approach is designed to reach and efficiently on-board subscribers at scale while minimizing subscriber acquisition costs.

Our Model

We believe that our solution results in a strong, efficient and differentiated business model with the following attributes:

 

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Attractive Subscription Model and Retention Rates.    Our subscriptions require payment in advance, providing significant cash flow benefits and revenue visibility. Our products and services are tailored to the needs of SMB subscribers and are integral to their businesses. As a result, we benefit from high subscriber and revenue retention rates.

 

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Strong Average Revenue Per Subscriber.    Our comprehensive platform, data driven approach and proactive subscriber engagement enable us to sell relevant and useful additional

 

 

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products and services to existing and new subscribers, driving higher average revenue per subscriber.

 

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Cost-Effective Customer Acquisition.    Through our multi-brand, multi-channel approach, we are able to target our marketing spend carefully and acquire subscribers cost-effectively. Due to our large base of subscribers and high customer satisfaction, we also attract a significant percentage of our new subscribers through word of mouth referrals, at no cost to us.

 

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Efficient Cost to Serve.    We serve our subscribers in a cost-efficient manner as a result of our integrated technology platform and operating support systems which facilitate the collection, analysis and application of large amounts of data. Our cloud-based delivery model enables us to serve subscribers with minimal incremental expense and deploy new products and services quickly and efficiently. We have also developed proprietary techniques that help us to operate with highly efficient server configurations, resulting in low capital expenditures.

 

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Virtuous Cycle.    As our business continues to grow, we enjoy even greater benefits of scale—collecting more data, improving our analytical capabilities, deriving more insight, enhancing our operational efficiency, increasing our cash flow and re-investing in the growth of our business.

Our Growth Strategy

Since our formation in 1997, we have focused on helping SMBs establish, manage and grow their businesses. To fulfill our mission, we intend to continue to increase our scale, broaden our subscriber footprint, expand our range of product and service offerings and pursue strategic acquisitions.

Grow Our Subscriber Base

We believe there is a substantial opportunity to expand our subscriber base by:

 

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Expanding Existing Channels.    We intend to continue to invest in our multiple subscriber acquisition channels, including our resellers, strategic partners and referral sources. We also plan to continue to collaborate with resellers and strategic partners to increase the value proposition of our solutions to subscribers.

 

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Expanding Internationally.    We have successfully entered foreign markets such as Brazil and India and believe there are significant opportunities to continue growing our global presence. We intend to expand further into international markets by leveraging our technology platform to deliver offerings customized to local markets.

Increase Sales of Our Products and Services

We intend to expand sales of our products and services to support our subscribers as they grow, by:

 

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Expanding Sales of Existing Products and Services.    We aim to offer our subscribers the right products and services at the right time. We believe our strong subscriber relationships and our comprehensive portfolio of products and services provide us with the opportunity to drive incremental sales.

 

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Continuing to Add Innovative Products and Services.    We plan to continue to introduce value-added products and services that address our subscribers’ needs. As we further expand our solutions, we expect that our subscribers will be more likely to purchase additional products and services from us.

 

 

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Pursue Strategic Acquisitions

We may pursue future acquisitions that complement our existing business, represent a strategic fit and are consistent with our overall growth strategy. We may target acquisitions that help us access new international markets, enhance our data analytics and technology platform or add functionality and capabilities to our suite of products and services.

Risks Associated with Our Business

You should consider carefully the risks described under the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page 15 and elsewhere in this prospectus. These risks, which include the following, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flow, which could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline and could result in a partial or total loss of your investment:

 

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Our quarterly and annual operating results may be adversely affected due to a variety of factors, which could make our future results difficult to predict.

 

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The rate of growth of the SMB market for our solutions could be significantly lower than our estimates.

 

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Our business and operations have experienced rapid growth and organizational change in recent periods, which has placed, and will continue to place, significant demands on our management and infrastructure, especially our billing systems.

 

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We may not be able to continue to add new subscribers or increase sales to our existing subscribers.

 

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We have a risk of system and Internet failures and have not yet implemented a complete disaster recovery plan.

 

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We face significant competition for our solutions in the SMB market and may not be able to maintain or improve our competitive position or market share.

 

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If we lose our ability to accept credit card payments from subscribers, it would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

 

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We have a history of losses and may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability.

 

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Our business depends on establishing and maintaining strong brands.

 

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Our success depends in part on our strategic relationships and alliances with third parties.

 

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Our recent or potential future acquisitions could be difficult to execute and integrate, divert the attention of key personnel, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value and impair our financial results.

 

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The international nature of our business and our continued international expansion expose us to business risks.

 

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We rely on a limited number of co-located data centers to deliver most of our services.

 

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Security and privacy breaches may harm our business.

 

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Our substantial level of indebtedness could materially and adversely affect our financial condition.

 

 

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Insiders will continue to have substantial control over us after this offering, which could limit your ability to influence the outcome of key transactions, including a change of control.

Corporate Information and Structure

Our business was founded in 1997 as a Delaware corporation under the name Innovative Marketing Technologies Incorporated. In December 2011, investment funds and entities affiliated with Warburg Pincus and Goldman Sachs acquired a controlling interest in our company. We refer to this transaction as the Sponsor Acquisition. The issuer in this offering, Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc., is a Delaware corporation and is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of WP Expedition Topco L.P., a Delaware limited partnership that we refer to as WP Expedition Topco. Pursuant to the terms of a corporate reorganization that will be completed concurrently with, or prior to, the completion of this offering, WP Expedition Topco will dissolve and in liquidation will distribute the shares of Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc. common stock to its partners in accordance with the limited partnership agreement of WP Expedition Topco. For more information on the Sponsor Acquisition, see “Management’s Discuss and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Impact of Sponsor Acquisition.” For more information on our corporate reorganization and ownership of our common stock, see “Corporate Reorganization” and “Principal and Selling Stockholders.”

Upon completion of this offering, we will be a “controlled company” as defined under the NASDAQ Listing Rules, and based on an assumed initial public offering price of $         per share (the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), investment funds and entities affiliated with Warburg Pincus will own, in the aggregate, approximately     % of our outstanding common stock (or     % if the underwriters’ option to acquire additional shares of common stock is exercised in full), and investment funds and entities affiliated with Goldman Sachs will own, in the aggregate, approximately     % of our outstanding common stock (or     % if the underwriters’ option to acquire additional shares of common stock is exercised in full). Goldman Sachs is one of the underwriters of this offering. See “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest).”

Our wholly owned subsidiary, EIG Investors Corp., or EIG Investors, is the borrower under our secured credit facilities. We and certain of our domestic subsidiaries are guarantors of EIG Investors’ obligations under our secured credit facilities.

Our corporate headquarters is located at 10 Corporate Drive, Suite 300, Burlington, Massachusetts 01803, and our telephone number is (781) 852-3200. Our principal website address is www.endurance.com, and we also operate a number of other websites. The information on, or that can be accessed through, any of our websites is not deemed to be incorporated in this prospectus or to be part of this prospectus, and you should not rely on any such information in making the decision whether to purchase our common stock.

“Endurance”, “Endurance International”, Domain.com, iPage, FatCow, Homestead, Bluehost, HostGator, A Small Orange, iPower, Dotster, their respective logos, and other trademarks or service marks of Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc. appearing in this prospectus are our property. This prospectus also contains trademarks, service marks, trade names and copyrights of other companies, which are the property of their respective owners. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ® or ™ symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the right of the applicable licensor to these trademarks and trade names.

 

 

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Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company

We qualify as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of specified reduced disclosure and other requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies, including:

 

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reduced disclosure about our executive compensation arrangements;

 

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no non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements; and

 

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exemption from the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of our internal controls over financial reporting.

We may take advantage of these exemptions up until the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of this offering or such earlier time that we are no longer an emerging growth company. We would cease to be an emerging growth company if we have more than $1 billion in annual revenue, we have more than $700 million in market value of our stock held by non-affiliates (and we have been a public company for at least 12 months and have filed one annual report on Form 10-K) or we issue more than $1 billion of non-convertible debt securities over a three-year period. We may choose to take advantage of some, but not all, of the available exemptions. We have taken advantage of certain reduced reporting obligations in this prospectus. Accordingly, the information contained herein may be different than the information you receive from other public companies in which you hold stock.

In addition, the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to avail ourselves of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, we will not be subject to new or revised accounting standards that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.

Conflicts of Interest

Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory, investment banking, commercial banking and other services for us for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses. See “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest).”

Goldman Sachs, together with its affiliates, indirectly owns in excess of 10% of our issued and outstanding common stock, and is therefore deemed to be one of our “affiliates” and have a “conflict of interest” within the meaning of Rule 5121 of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA. In addition, we expect that more than 5% of the net proceeds of this offering may be received by certain other underwriters in this offering or their affiliates that are lenders under our credit facilities as the result of our use of a portion of our net proceeds to repay indebtedness under such credit facilities. As a result, Goldman Sachs will be deemed to have a “conflict of interest” under Rule 5121, as administered by FINRA and this offering will be made in compliance with the applicable provisions of Rule 5121. Rule 5121 requires that no sale be made to discretionary accounts by underwriters having a conflict of interest without the prior written approval of the account holder and that a “qualified independent underwriter,” as defined in the rule, has participated in the preparation of the registration statement and prospectus and exercised the usual standards of due diligence with respect thereto. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is assuming the responsibilities of acting as the “qualified independent underwriter”

 

 

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in this offering. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC will not receive any additional compensation for acting as a qualified independent underwriter. We have agreed to indemnify Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC against liabilities incurred in connection with acting as a “qualified independent underwriter,” including liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in that respect.

 

 

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THE OFFERING

 

Common stock offered by Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc.

  

             Shares

Common stock offered by the selling stockholders

  

             Shares

Common stock to be outstanding after this offering

  

             Shares

Use of proceeds (conflicts of interest)

  

We intend to use a portion of our net proceeds of this offering to:

 

Ÿ    repay $         million of indebtedness outstanding under our              loan facility; and

 

Ÿ    satisfy all or a portion of our payment obligations at the closing of our proposed acquisition of Directi Web Technology Pvt. Ltd., or Directi, described elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

We intend to use the balance of our net proceeds of this offering for working capital and other general corporate purposes, which may include the acquisition of other complementary products, technologies or businesses. We will not receive any proceeds from the shares sold by the selling stockholders. See “Use of Proceeds” for more information. Goldman Sachs, together with its affiliates, indirectly owns in excess of 10% of our issued and outstanding common stock, and is therefore deemed to be one of our “affiliates” and have a “conflict of interest” under FINRA Rule 5121(f)(5). In addition, we expect that more than 5% of the net proceeds of this offering may be received by certain other underwriters in this offering or their affiliates that are lenders under our credit facilities as the result of our use of a portion of our net proceeds to repay indebtedness under such credit facilities. Accordingly, this offering will be made in compliance with the applicable provisions of Rule 5121. Rule 5121 requires that a “qualified independent underwriter”, or QIU, participate in the preparation of this prospectus and exercise the usual standards of due diligence with respect thereto. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC has served in that capacity and performed due diligence investigations and reviewed and participated in the preparation of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. We have agreed, subject to certain terms and conditions, to indemnify Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC against certain liabilities incurred in connection with it acting as QIU in this offering, including liabilities under the Securities

 

 

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   Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. See “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest).”

Dividend Policy

   We intend to retain all future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business. We do not anticipate paying cash dividends on our common stock.

Risk Factors

   You should read the “Risk Factors” section and other information included in this prospectus for a discussion of factors to consider before deciding to invest in shares of our common stock.

Proposed NASDAQ Global Market symbol

   “EIGI”

 

 

The number of shares of our common stock to be outstanding after this offering is based on shares of common stock outstanding as of                     , 2013 and an assumed initial public offering price of $         per share (the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), and excludes up to             shares of our common stock issuable in connection with our proposed acquisition of Directi based on an assumed initial public offering price of $         per share (the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus) and              shares of common stock available for future issuance under our equity compensation plans as of                     , 2013.

Except as otherwise noted, all information in this prospectus:

 

  Ÿ  

assumes no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to an additional              shares from us and up to an additional              shares from the selling stockholders;

 

  Ÿ  

gives effect to the amendment and restatement of our certificate of incorporation and amendment and restatement of our bylaws upon the closing of this offering; and

 

  Ÿ  

assumes the completion of our corporate reorganization concurrently with, or prior to, the completion of this offering. See “Corporate Reorganization.”

 

 

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SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

The following table presents summary consolidated financial and other data for our business for the periods indicated. The summary consolidated statements of operations data presented below for the year ended December 31, 2010, the period from January 1, 2011 through December 21, 2011, the period from December 22, 2011 through December 31, 2011 and the year ended December 31, 2012, and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2012, have been derived from our audited financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Impact of Sponsor Acquisition.” The summary consolidated statements of operations data for the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of June 30, 2013 have been derived from our unaudited consolidated financial statements for those periods included elsewhere in this prospectus, and except as described in the notes thereto, have been prepared on a basis consistent with our audited consolidated financial statements and, in the opinion of management, include all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of that information for such periods. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected in the future and the results for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected in the full year. You should read this summary consolidated financial data in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes, all included elsewhere in this prospectus. All data in the following table is in thousands, except share and per share data.

 

    Predecessor(1)     Successor(1)  
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
    Period from
January 1
through
December 21,
2011
    Period from
December 22
through
December 31,
2011
    Year Ended
December 31,
2012
    Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
            2012     2013  
                            (unaudited)  

Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:

             

Revenue

  $ 87,781      $ 187,340      $ 2,967      $ 292,156      $ 91,768      $ 250,963   

Cost of revenue(2)

    74,993        133,399        3,901        237,179        80,568        175,180   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross profit

    12,788        53,941        (934     54,977        11,200        75,783   

Operating expense:

             

Sales and marketing

    33,412        54,932        1,482        83,110        36,558        58,299   

Engineering and development

    2,746        5,538        101        13,803        3,998        12,235   

General and administrative

    7,136        16,938        3,755        48,411        12,248        28,363   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expense(3)

    43,294        77,408        5,338        145,324        52,804        98,897   

Loss from operations

    (30,506     (23,467     (6,272     (90,347     (41,604     (23,114

Net interest income (expense)

    (13,814     (50,291     (855     (126,131     (18,840     (43,509
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

    (44,320     (73,758     (7,127     (216,478     (60,444     (66,623

Income tax expense (benefit)

    26        126        (2,746     (77,203     (21,428     (1,671

Equity loss (income) of unconsolidated entities, net of tax

                         23               (266
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

  $ (44,346   $ (73,884   $ (4,381   $ (139,298   $ (39,016   $ (64,686
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:

             

Basic

  $        $        $        $        $        $     
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

  $        $        $        $        $        $     
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted average shares used to compute net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:

             

Basic

             
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

             
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

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    Predecessor(1)   Successor(1)  
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
  Period from
January 1
through
December 21,
2011
  Period from
December 22
through
December 31,
2011
  Year Ended
December 31,
2012
    Six Months
Ended June 30,
 
          2012   2013  
                     (unaudited)  

Pro forma net loss per share attributable to common stockholders (unaudited):(4)

             

Basic

          $          $     
         

 

 

     

 

 

 

Diluted

          $          $     
         

 

 

     

 

 

 

Pro forma weighted average shares used to compute pro forma net loss per share (unaudited):(5)

             

Basic

             
         

 

 

     

 

 

 

Diluted

             
         

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

(1) Our company is referred to as the “predecessor” for all periods prior to the Sponsor Acquisition and is referred to as the “successor” for all periods after the Sponsor Acquisition.
(2) Includes stock-based compensation expense of $26,000 for the year ended December 31, 2012, and $9,000 and $11,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013, respectively. We recorded no stock-based compensation expense to cost of revenue in 2010 or 2011.
(3) Includes stock-based compensation expense of $1.0 million and $2.3 million for the predecessor period of 2011 and the year ended December 31, 2012, respectively, and $1.0 million and $0.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013, respectively. We recorded no stock-based compensation expense to operating expense in 2010.
(4) Pro forma net loss per share has been adjusted to reflect $         of lower interest expense related to the repayment of $         million of indebtedness under our             , using a portion of the proceeds of this offering as if such indebtedness had been repaid as of the beginning of the period.
(5) Pro forma weighted-average shares includes shares of common stock to be issued in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $             per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. The issuance of such shares is assumed to have occurred as of the beginning of the period.

 

     As of
December 31,
2012
    As of June 30, 2013  
       Actual     Pro
Forma(1)(3)
     Pro Forma
as
Adjusted(2)(3)
 
           (unaudited)  

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

         

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 23,245      $ 16,984      $                    $                

Property and equipment, net

     34,604        43,954        

Working capital

     (203,853     (261,390     

Total assets

     1,538,136        1,515,082        

Current and long-term debt

     1,130,000        1,134,000        

Total stockholders’ equity

     70,155        6,208        

 

(1) The pro forma balance sheet data give effect to the completion of our corporate reorganization concurrently with, or prior to, the completion of this offering (see “Corporate Reorganization”).
(2) The pro forma as adjusted balance sheet data give effect to (a) our issuance and sale of shares of common stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, (b) our use of a portion of our net proceeds of this offering to repay $         million of our indebtedness outstanding under our              loan facility and (c) our use of a portion of our net proceeds of this offering to satisfy all or a portion of our payment obligations at the closing of our proposed acquisition of Directi.
(3) A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) the pro forma as adjusted amount of each of cash and cash equivalents, working capital, total assets and total stockholders’ equity by approximately $        , assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

 

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    Predecessor     Successor  
  Year Ended
December 31,
2010
    Period from
January  1,
2011

through
December 21,
2011
    Period from
December 22,
2011 through
December 31,
2011
    Year Ended
December 31,
2012
    Six Months Ended  
          June
30,
2012
    June 30,
2013
 

Financial and Other Metrics:

             

Total subscribers(1)

    2,482        2,845        2,857        3,223        3,059        3,370   

Average revenue per subscriber(2)

  $ 12.36      $ 12.84      $ 12.84      $ 12.92      $ 12.78      $ 12.96   

Monthly recurring revenue retention rate(3)

    99     99     99     99     99     99

Adjusted net income(4)

  $ 9,068      $ 60,041      $ 1,813      $ 27,695      $ 25,488      $ 58,045   

Adjusted EBITDA(5)

  $ 25,066      $ 90,032      $ 3,853      $ 132,765      $ 63,360      $ 110,682   

Unlevered free cash flow(6)

  $ 26,445      $ 73,264      $ 3,419      $ 101,193      $ 45,130      $ 85,883   

 

(1) We define total subscribers as those that, as of the end of a period, are subscribing directly to our solutions on a paid basis. In calculating total subscribers, we include the number of end-of-period subscribers we added through business acquisitions as if those subscribers had subscribed with us since the beginning of the period presented. We do not include in total subscribers parties that access our solutions via resellers or purchase only domain names from us. Subscribers of more than one brand are counted as separate subscribers.
(2) Average revenue per subscriber, or ARPS, is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate monthly as the amount of revenue we recognize from subscribers in a month divided by the average of the number of total subscribers at the beginning of the month and at the end of the month. For any period, ARPS is calculated as the average of ARPS for each month in that period. In calculating ARPS, we exclude the impact of any fair value adjustments to deferred revenue resulting from acquisitions. We also adjust the amount of revenue to include the revenue generated from subscribers we added through business acquisitions as if those acquired subscribers had been our subscribers since the beginning of the period presented. For more information regarding ARPS and a reconciliation of ARPS to average revenue per subscriber calculated on a GAAP basis, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
(3) We calculate our monthly recurring revenue, or MRR, retention rate at the end of a period by taking the retained recurring value of subscription revenue of all active subscribers at the end of the prior period and dividing it into the retained recurring value of subscription revenue for those same subscribers at the end of the reported period.
(4) Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as net income (loss) plus changes in deferred revenue inclusive of purchase accounting adjustments related to acquisitions, stock-based compensation expense, severance, expenses related to restructurings or integration of acquisitions, any dividend-related payments accounted for as compensation expense, costs associated with litigation matters and preparation for this offering and the estimated tax effects of the foregoing adjustments. For more information regarding adjusted net income and a reconciliation of adjusted net income to net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
(5) Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as adjusted net income plus interest expense, depreciation, amortization and change in deferred taxes. For more information regarding adjusted EBITDA and a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
(6) Unlevered free cash flow, or UFCF, is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as adjusted EBITDA plus change in operating assets and liabilities (other than deferred revenue) net of acquisitions less capital expenditures. For more information regarding UFCF and a reconciliation of UFCF to net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

 

 

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information included in this prospectus, including our financial statements and the related notes appearing at the end of this prospectus, before deciding to invest in our common stock. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and future growth prospects could be materially and adversely affected by any of these risks or uncertainties. In that case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Business and Our Industry

Our quarterly and annual operating results may be adversely affected due to a variety of factors, which could make our future results difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall below investor or analyst expectations.

Our quarterly and annual operating results may be adversely affected due to a variety of factors that could affect our revenue or our expenses in any particular period. You should not rely on quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our operating results as an indication of future performance. Factors that may adversely affect our quarterly and annual operating results may include:

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to attract new subscribers and retain existing subscribers;

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to acquire subscribers in a cost-effective way;

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to maintain a high level of subscriber satisfaction;

 

  Ÿ  

competition in the market for our products and services;

 

  Ÿ  

rapid technological change, frequent new product and service introductions, and evolving industry standards;

 

  Ÿ  

difficulties in integrating technologies, products and employees from companies we acquire or in migrating acquired subscribers from an acquired company’s platforms to our platforms, including difficulties in integrating technologies, products and employees of Directi;

 

  Ÿ  

systems, data center and Internet failures and service interruptions;

 

  Ÿ  

difficulties in distributing new products;

 

  Ÿ  

shortcomings in, or misinterpretations of, our metrics and data which cause us to fail to anticipate or identify trends in our market;

 

  Ÿ  

terminations of, disputes with, or material changes to our relationships with third-party partners, including referral sources, product partners and payment processors;

 

  Ÿ  

a shift in subscriber demand to lower margin solutions, which could increase our cost of revenue;

 

  Ÿ  

reductions in the selling prices for our solutions;

 

  Ÿ  

costs associated with any acquisitions that we may make, including costs associated with our proposed acquisition of Directi;

 

  Ÿ  

changes in legislation that affect our collection of sales and use taxes;

 

  Ÿ  

changes in regulation or to regulatory bodies, such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, that could affect our business and our industry; and

 

  Ÿ  

loss of key employees.

 

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It is possible that in one or more future quarters, due to any of the factors listed above, a combination of those factors or other reasons, our operating results may be below our expectations and the expectations of research analysts and investors. In that event, our stock price could decline substantially.

The rate of growth of the small- and medium-sized business, or SMB, market for our solutions could be significantly lower than our estimates. If demand for our products and services does not meet expectations, our ability to generate revenue and meet our financial targets could be adversely affected.

Although we expect continued demand in the SMB market for our cloud-based solutions, it is possible that the rate of growth may not meet our expectations, or the market may not grow at all, either of which would adversely affect our business. Our expectations for future revenue growth are based in part on assumptions reflecting our industry knowledge and experience serving SMBs, as well as our assumptions regarding demographic shifts, growth in the availability and capacity of Internet infrastructure internationally and the general economic climate. If any of these assumptions proves to be inaccurate, then our actual revenue growth could be significantly lower than our expected revenue growth.

Our ability to compete successfully depends on our ability to offer an integrated and comprehensive suite of products and services that enable our diverse base of subscribers to establish, manage and grow their businesses. Our web presence and commerce offerings are predicated on the assumption that an online presence is, and will continue to be, an important factor in our subscribers’ abilities to establish, expand, manage and monetize their online presence quickly, easily and affordably. If we are incorrect in this assumption, for example due to the introduction of a new technology or industry standard that supersedes the importance of an online presence or renders our existing or future solutions obsolete, then our ability to retain existing subscribers and attract new subscribers could be adversely affected, which could harm our ability to generate revenue and meet our financial targets.

In addition, we estimate that approximately 20% of our subscribers use our cloud-based solutions primarily for personal, group or not-for-profit use. We do not offer a complete suite of products and services that are tailored to the specific needs of these types of subscribers. As a result, we may not be able to increase revenue per subscriber for these subscribers at the same rate as for our other subscribers, which could negatively affect our growth and have an adverse effect on our operating results.

Our business and operations have experienced rapid growth and organizational change in recent periods, which has placed, and will continue to place, significant demands on our management and infrastructure, especially our billing systems. If we fail to manage our growth effectively, we may be unable to execute our business plan, maintain high levels of service, produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis or address competitive challenges adequately.

As a result of acquisitions and internal growth, we increased our number of employees from 517 as of December 31, 2010, to 787 as of December 31, 2011, to 2,157 as of December 31, 2012 and to 2,580 as of June 30, 2013. Our revenue increased from $87.8 million in 2010, to $190.3 million in 2011, to $292.2 million in 2012 and to $251.0 million in the six months ended June 30, 2013. The revenue for 2011 set forth in this paragraph consists of the revenue for the 2011 predecessor and successor periods.

Our growth has placed, and will continue to place, a significant strain on our managerial, engineering, network operations, sales and support, marketing, legal, finance and other resources. In

 

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particular, our growth has placed, and will continue to place, a significant strain on our ability to build and maintain effective internal financial and accounting controls and procedures. For example, as a result of our acquisitions, we have acquired multiple billing systems that we are in the process of integrating. Any delays or other challenges associated with this build-out or integration could lead to inaccurate disclosure, which could prevent us from producing accurate financial statements on a timely basis and harm our operating results, our ability to operate our business and our investors’ view of us.

In addition, we intend to further expand our overall business, subscriber base, data center infrastructure, headcount and operations, both domestically and internationally, with no assurance that our business or revenue will continue to grow. Creating an organization with expanded U.S. and overseas operations and managing a geographically dispersed workforce will require substantial management effort, the allocation of management resources and significant additional investment in our infrastructure. We will be required to continue to improve our operational, financial and management controls and our reporting procedures, and we may not be able to do so. As such, we may be unable to manage our expenses effectively in the future, which may adversely affect our gross margins or operating expenses in any particular quarter. If we fail to manage our anticipated growth and organizational change in a manner that preserves the key aspects of our corporate culture, the quality of our solutions may suffer or fail to keep up with changes in the industry or technological developments, which could adversely affect our brands and reputation and harm our ability to retain and attract subscribers.

If we are unable to maintain a high level of subscriber satisfaction, demand for our solutions could suffer.

We believe that our future revenue growth depends on our ability to provide subscribers with quality service that meets our stated commitments and also meets or exceeds our subscribers’ expectations. We are not always able to provide our subscribers with this level of service, and our subscribers occasionally encounter interruptions in service and other technical challenges and pursue billing disputes. If we are unable to provide subscribers with quality service, this may result in subscriber dissatisfaction, and we could face damage to our reputation, claims of loss, negative publicity, decreased overall demand for our solutions and loss of revenue, any of which could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

In addition, we may from time to time fail to meet the needs of specific subscribers in order to best meet the service expectations of our overall subscriber base. For example, we may suspend a subscriber’s website when it is harming other subscribers’ websites or disrupting servers supporting those websites, such as when a hacker installs malware on a subscriber’s website without that subscriber’s authorization or knowledge. Although such service interruptions are not uncommon in a cloud-based environment, we risk subscriber dissatisfaction by interrupting one subscriber’s service to prevent further attacks on or data breaches for other subscribers, and this could damage our reputation and have an adverse effect on our business.

We may not be able to continue to add new subscribers or increase sales to our existing subscribers, which could adversely affect our operating results.

Our growth is dependent on our ability to continue to attract new subscribers while retaining and expanding our products and services to existing subscribers. Growth in the demand for our products and services may be inhibited, and we may be unable to sustain growth in our subscriber base, for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to:

 

  Ÿ  

our failure to develop or offer new or additional products and services in a timely manner that keeps pace with new technologies and the evolving needs of our subscribers;

 

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  Ÿ  

our inability to market our solutions in a cost-effective manner to new subscribers and to increase our sales to existing subscribers, including due to changes in regulation, or to changes in the enforcement of existing regulation, that would impair our marketing practices, require us to change our sign-up processes or to increase disclosure designed to provide greater transparency as to how we bill and deliver our services;

 

  Ÿ  

our inability to offer solutions that are adequately integrated and customizable to meet the needs of our highly diverse and fragmented subscriber base;

 

  Ÿ  

changes in search engine ranking algorithms which may have the effect of increasing our marketing costs to offset lower search engine rankings;

 

  Ÿ  

failure of our third-party development partners, on which we rely to provide a majority of our offerings, to continue to support existing products and to develop and support new products;

 

  Ÿ  

the inability of our subscribers to differentiate our solutions from those of our competitors or our inability to effectively communicate such distinctions;

 

  Ÿ  

our inability to maintain, or strengthen awareness of, our brands;

 

  Ÿ  

our inability to maintain a consistent user experience and timely and consistent product upgrade schedule for all of our subscribers due to the fact that not all of our brands, products, or services operate from the same control panel or other systems;

 

  Ÿ  

our inability to penetrate, or adapt to requirements of, international markets;

 

  Ÿ  

our inability to enter into automatically renewing contracts with our subscribers or increase subscription prices;

 

  Ÿ  

the decisions by our subscribers to move the hosting of their Internet sites and web infrastructure to their own IT systems, into co-location facilities or to our competitors if we are unable to effectively market the scalability of our solutions;

 

  Ÿ  

subscriber dissatisfaction causing our existing subscribers to stop referring prospective subscribers to us; and

 

  Ÿ  

perceived or actual security, integrity, reliability, quality or compatibility problems with our solutions, including related to unscheduled downtime, or outages.

A substantial amount of our revenue growth historically has been derived from increased sales of additional products and services to existing subscribers. Our costs associated with increasing revenue from existing subscribers are generally lower than costs associated with generating revenue from new subscribers. Therefore, a reduction in the rate of revenue increase from our existing subscribers, even if offset by an increase in revenue from new subscribers, could reduce our operating margins, and any failure by us to continue to attract new subscribers or increase our revenue from existing subscribers could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.

We have a risk of system and Internet failures and have not yet implemented a complete disaster recovery plan, and any interruptions could harm our reputation, cause our subscribers to seek reimbursement for services paid for and not received, and cause our subscribers to seek to replace us as a provider of their cloud-based solutions.

We must be able to operate our applications and systems without interruption. Since our ability to retain and attract subscribers depends on our ability to provide highly reliable service, even minor interruptions in our service or losses of data could harm our reputation. Our applications, systems, power supplies, customer support centers and co-located data centers are subject to various points of failure, including:

 

  Ÿ  

human error or accidents;

 

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power loss;

 

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  Ÿ  

equipment failure;

 

  Ÿ  

Internet connectivity downtime;

 

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improper building maintenance by the landlords of the buildings in which our co-located data centers are located;

 

  Ÿ  

physical or electronic security breaches;

 

  Ÿ  

computer viruses;

 

  Ÿ  

fire, hurricane, flood, earthquake, tornado and other natural disasters;

 

  Ÿ  

water damage;

 

  Ÿ  

terrorism;

 

  Ÿ  

intentional bad acts, such as sabotage and vandalism;

 

  Ÿ  

pandemics; and

 

  Ÿ  

failure by us or our vendors to provide adequate service to our equipment.

We have experienced system failures and delays and periodic interruptions in service in the past, including due to accidental or intentional actions of Internet users, current and former employees and others, and we will likely experience future system failures or outages that disrupt the operation of our solutions and harm our business. Our systems are not fully redundant, and we have not yet implemented a complete disaster recovery plan or business continuity plan.

For example, in August 2013, while we were performing network infrastructure maintenance in our largest data center, we experienced an equipment failure which caused issues within our network, resulting in unscheduled downtime, or an outage, that affected many subscribers of our HostGator, Bluehost, JustHost and HostMonster brands. At certain times during the outage, we estimate that between one third and one half of our subscribers were not able to access our services, including their websites and email. While our subscribers’ individual servers were not affected, their ability, and their customers’ ability, to access their websites and the data stored on their servers were affected for up to 12 hours. This outage also affected our internal support and phone systems, intermittently impairing the ability of many subscribers to contact us. Immediately following the outage, we experienced an increase in subscriber cancellations, which have since returned to historical levels, and in the weeks following the outage, we experienced a decrease in our Net Promoter Scores, a customer satisfaction metric developed by Bain & Company. We anticipate that we may experience a related decrease in word-of-mouth subscriber referrals and an increase in the number of existing subscribers that fail to renew subscriptions at the end of their current terms, although we do not anticipate that this would have a material adverse effect on our business.

Although the redundancies we do have in place will permit us to respond, at least to some degree, to failures of applications and systems, our co-located data centers are vulnerable in the event of failure. A significant majority of our subscribers are hosted in one of our six U.S.-based co-located data centers, which are located in Boston, Massachusetts; Dallas, Texas; Houston, Texas; Provo, Utah; San Jose, California; and Waltham, Massachusetts. Accordingly, any failure or downtime in any one of these six co-located data center facilities would affect a significant percentage of our subscribers. We do not yet have adequate structures or systems in place to recover from a data center’s severe impairment or total destruction, and recovery from the total destruction or severe impairment of any of these six co-located data centers would be extremely difficult and may not be possible at all. Closing any one of these six co-located data centers without adequate notice could result in lengthy, if not permanent, interruptions in the availability of our solutions and loss of vast amounts of subscriber data.

 

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Our co-located data centers are also susceptible to impairment resulting from electrical power outages due to the amount of power and cooling they require to operate. Since we rely on third parties to provide our co-located data centers with power sufficient to meet our needs, we cannot control whether our co-located data centers will have an adequate amount of electrical resources necessary to meet our subscriber requirements. We attempt to limit exposure to system downtime due to power outages by using backup generators and power supplies. However, these protections may not limit our exposure to power shortages or outages entirely.

Our customer support centers are also vulnerable in the event of failure caused by total destruction or severe impairment. When calling our customer support services, most of our subscribers reach our customer support teams located in one of our six U.S.-based call centers, which are located in Austin, Texas; Englewood, Colorado; Houston, Texas; Orem, Utah; Tempe, Arizona; and Vancouver, Washington. Our teams in each call center are trained to provide support services for a discrete subset of our brands, and they do not currently have complete capability to route calls from one call center to another call center. Accordingly, if any one of these call centers became non-operational due to severe impairment or total destruction, our ability to re-route calls to operational call centers or to provide customer support services to any subscribers of the brand or brands that the non-operational call center had formerly managed would be compromised. A significant portion of our email and chat-based customer support is provided by our India-based support team, which is currently employed by a third-party service provider. Although our email and chat-based customer support can be re-routed to our own centers more easily than calls can be, a disruption at our India customer support center could adversely affect our business.

Any of these events could materially increase our expenses or reduce our revenue, damage our reputation and cause us to lose current and potential subscribers, which would have a material adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition. Moreover, the property and business interruption insurance we carry may not have coverage adequate to compensate us fully for losses that may occur.

We face significant competition for our solutions in the SMB market, which we expect will continue to intensify and which could require us to reduce our selling prices. As a result of such competitive pressures, we may not be able to maintain or improve our competitive position or market share.

The SMB market for cloud-based technologies is highly competitive and constantly evolving. We expect competition to increase from existing competitors as well as potential new market entrants. Most of our existing competitors are expanding the variety of solution-based services that they offer to SMBs. We also may face significant competition from new entrants into the markets we serve. Our competitors include providers of:

 

  Ÿ  

web presence and commerce offerings, such as domain name registrars, shared hosting providers, website creation and management companies and e-commerce service providers;

 

  Ÿ  

computing resources and security offerings, such as on-demand computing resources and online security offerings;

 

  Ÿ  

marketing solutions, such as search engine marketing (SEM) companies, search engine optimization (SEO) companies, local directory listing companies and online and offline business directories; and

 

  Ÿ  

productivity tools, such as business-class email, calendaring and file-sharing.

Some of these competitors may have greater resources, more brand recognition and consumer awareness, greater international scope and larger subscriber bases than we do. As a result, we may

 

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not be able to compete successfully against them. If these companies decide to devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products and services, greater numbers of SMBs may choose to use these competitors for creating an online presence and as a general platform for running online business operations.

There are relatively few barriers to entry in this market, especially for providers of niche services, which often have low capital and operating expenses and the ability to quickly bring products to market that meet specific subscriber needs. Accordingly, as this market continues to develop, we expect the number of competitors to increase. The continued entry of competitors into the cloud-based technologies market, and the rapid growth of some competitors that have already entered the market, may make it difficult for us to maintain our market position.

In addition, in an attempt to gain market share, competitors may offer aggressive price discounts or alternative pricing models, such as so-called “freemium” pricing in which a basic offering is provided for free with advanced features provided for a fee, on the services they offer, or increase commissions paid to their referral sources. These pricing pressures may require us to match these discounts and commissions in order to remain competitive, which would reduce our margins or cause us to fail to attract new subscribers that decide to purchase the discounted service offerings of our competitors. As a result of these factors, it is difficult to predict whether we will be able to maintain our average selling prices, pricing models and commissions paid to our referral sources. If we reduce our selling prices, alter our pricing models or increase commissions paid to our referral sources, it may become increasingly difficult for us to compete successfully, our profitability may be harmed and our operating results could be adversely affected.

We must keep up with rapid and ongoing technological change to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving industry.

The cloud-based technology industry is characterized by rapid and ongoing technological change, frequent new product and service introductions, and evolving industry standards. Our future success will depend on our ability to adapt quickly to rapidly changing technologies, to adapt our solutions to evolving industry standards and to improve the performance and reliability of our applications and services. To achieve market acceptance for our applications and services, we must anticipate subscriber need and offer solutions that meet changing subscriber demands quickly and effectively. Subscribers may require features and functionality that our current applications and services do not have or that our platforms are not able to support. If we fail to develop solutions that satisfy subscriber preferences in a timely and cost-effective manner, our ability to renew our agreements with existing subscribers and our ability to increase demand for our solutions will be harmed.

In addition, the manner in which we market to our subscribers must keep pace with technological change. For example, application marketplaces, mobile platforms and new search engines and search methods are changing the way in which consumers find, purchase and use our solutions. If we are not able to take advantage of such technologies or if existing technologies or systems, such as the domain name system, become obsolete, we may be unable to continue to attract new subscribers or sell additional solutions to our existing subscribers.

Third parties provide a majority of our product and service offerings. Our future success will depend on our ability to continue to identify and partner with third parties who offer and are able to adapt to new technologies and to develop compelling and innovative solutions that can be quickly integrated with our platform and brought to market. If we or our third-party partners are unable to adapt to rapidly changing technologies and develop solutions that meet subscriber requirements, our revenue and operating results will be adversely affected.

 

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If we do not maintain a low rate of credit card chargebacks and protect against breach of the credit card information we store, we will face the prospect of financial penalties and could lose our ability to accept credit card payments from subscribers, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

A majority of our revenue is processed through credit card transactions. Under current credit card industry practices, we are liable for fraudulent and disputed credit card transactions because we do not obtain the cardholder’s signature at the time of the transaction, even though the financial institution issuing the credit card may have authorized the transaction. Although we focus on keeping our rate of credit card refunds and chargebacks low, if our refunds or chargebacks increase, our credit card processors could require us to increase reserves or terminate their contracts with us, which would have an adverse effect on our financial condition. Our failure to limit fraudulent transactions conducted on our websites, such as through the use of stolen credit card numbers, could also subject us to liability.

We could also incur significant fines or lose our ability to give subscribers the option of using credit cards to fund their payments or pay their fees to us if we fail to follow payment card industry data security standards, even if there is no compromise of subscriber information. Although we strive to be in compliance with such payment card industry data security standards, and we do not believe that there has been a compromise of subscriber information, we are not currently in full compliance with these standards. Accordingly, we could be fined, or our services could be suspended, for such failure to comply with payment card industry data security standards, which would cause us to not be able to process payments using credit cards. If we are unable to accept credit card payments, our financial condition, results of operation and cash flows would be adversely affected.

Under credit card association rules, penalties may be imposed at the discretion of the association. Any such potential penalties would be imposed on our credit card processor by the association. Under our contract with our processor, we are required to reimburse our processor for such penalties. Our current level of fraud protection, based on our fraudulent and disputed credit card transaction history, is within the guidelines established by the credit card associations. However, we face the risk that we may fail to maintain an adequate level of fraud protection or that one or more credit card associations may, at any time, assess penalties against us or terminate our ability to accept credit card payments from subscribers, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

In addition, we could be liable if there is a breach of the credit card information we store. Online commerce and communications depend on the secure transmission of confidential information over public networks. We rely on encryption and authentication technology that we have developed internally, as well as technology that we license from third parties, to provide security and authentication for the transmission of confidential information, including subscriber credit card numbers. However, we cannot ensure that this technology can prevent breaches of the systems that we use to protect subscriber credit card data. Although we maintain network security insurance, we cannot be certain that our coverage will be adequate for liabilities actually incurred or that insurance will continue to be available to us on reasonable terms, or at all. In addition, some of our third-party partners also collect information from transactions with our customers, and we may be subject to litigation or our reputation may be harmed if our partners fail to protect our subscribers’ information or if they use it in a manner that is inconsistent with our practices.

Data breaches can also occur as a result of non-technical issues. Under our contracts with our card processors, if there is unauthorized access to, or disclosure of, credit card information that we store, we could be liable to the credit card issuing banks for their cost of issuing new cards and related expenses.

 

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We have a history of losses and may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability.

We have had a net loss in each year since inception. We had net losses of $44.3 million, $78.3 million and $139.3 million for 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively, and $39.0 million and $64.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013, respectively. Net loss for 2011 set forth in this paragraph consists of the sum of the net loss for the 2011 predecessor and successor periods. In connection with our acquisitions, we have recorded at fair value, long-lived assets. We record amortization expense in each reporting period related to the long-lived assets, which have increased the amount of net loss we have recorded in each reporting period.

We cannot predict if we will achieve profitability in the near future or at all. We expect to make significant future expenditures to develop and expand our business, including by investing in our support organization and our co-located data centers. In addition, as a public company, we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. These increased expenditures will make it harder for us to achieve and maintain future profitability. Our recent growth in revenue and number of subscribers may not be sustainable, and our revenue may be insufficient to achieve or maintain profitability. We may incur significant losses in the future for a number of reasons, including principal and interest expense related to our substantial indebtedness, and the other risks described in this prospectus, and we may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications and delays and other unknown events. Accordingly, we may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability.

We may need additional equity, debt or other financing in the future, which we may not be able to obtain on acceptable terms, or at all, and any additional financing may result in restrictions on our operations or substantial dilution to our stockholders.

We may need to raise funds in the future, for example, to develop new technologies, expand our business, respond to competitive pressures, acquire complementary businesses, satisfy our funding obligations relating to our proposed acquisition of Directi or respond to unanticipated situations. We may try to raise additional funds through public or private financings, strategic relationships or other arrangements. Although our credit agreements limit our ability to incur additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions, or amendments with the consent of our lenders and, under certain circumstances, we may incur substantial additional debt in compliance with these restrictions or with the consent of our lenders. In addition, our credit agreements do not prevent us from incurring certain obligations that do not constitute indebtedness.

Our ability to obtain debt or equity funding will depend on a number of factors, including market conditions, interest rates, our operating performance and investor interest. Additional funding may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If adequate funds are not available, we may be required to reduce expenditures, including curtailing our growth strategies, foregoing acquisitions or reducing our product development efforts. If we succeed in raising additional funds through the issuance of equity or convertible securities, then the issuance could result in substantial dilution to existing stockholders. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of debt securities or preferred stock, these new securities would have rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of the holders of our common stock. In addition, any preferred equity issuance or debt financing that we may obtain in the future could have restrictive covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. Further, to the extent that we incur additional indebtedness or such other obligations, the risks associated with our substantial leverage described elsewhere in this prospectus, including our possible inability to service our debt, would increase.

 

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Our business depends on establishing and maintaining strong brands. If we are not able to effectively promote our brands, our ability to expand our subscriber base will be impaired and our business and operating results will be harmed.

We market our solutions through various brands, including Bluehost, Domain.com, FatCow, Homestead, HostGator, iPage and iPower. We believe that by cultivating many different brands, we are better able to target our marketing efforts to the specific needs and preferences of a highly diverse and highly fragmented SMB market than if we relied on one brand or a few brands. We also believe that establishing and maintaining our brands is critical to our efforts to attract and expand our subscriber base due to the highly competitive nature of our industry, including the likelihood that we may face competition from new entrants with new or well-established brands seeking to market to SMBs, the growing number of Internet sites and companies and corresponding proliferation of brands, and the low barriers to entry for companies offering cloud-based technologies to SMBs, especially providers of niche services, such as mobile application developers, which are often able to operate with low capital and operating expenses.

If we do not continue to build awareness of our brands, we could be placed at a competitive disadvantage to companies whose brands are, or become, more recognizable than ours. To attract and retain subscribers and to promote and maintain our brands in response to competitive pressures, we may have to substantially increase our financial commitment to creating and maintaining distinct brand loyalty among subscribers or eliminate certain of our brands. Because we have multiple brands, our financial commitment to creating and maintaining distinct brand loyalty among subscribers may be higher than for our competitors which typically market their products through fewer brands. If subscribers, as well as our third-party referral marketing, distribution and reseller partners, do not perceive our existing solutions to be of high quality, or if we introduce new services or enter into new business ventures that are not favorably received by such parties, the value of our brands could be diminished, thereby decreasing the attractiveness of our solutions to such parties. As a result, our operating results may be adversely affected by decreased brand recognition and harm to our reputation.

Our success depends in part on our strategic relationships and alliances with third parties.

In order to expand our business, we plan to continue to rely on third-party relationships and alliances, such as with referrers and promoters of our brands and solutions, as well as with our providers of solutions and services that we offer to subscribers.

We are accredited by ICANN and various other registries as a domain name registrar. We are dependent on these relationships to offer our domain name services to our subscribers. Identifying, negotiating, documenting and managing relationships with third parties requires significant time and resources, and it is possible that we may not be able to devote the time and resources we expect to such relationships. Integrating and customizing third parties’ solutions with our platforms also requires us to expend significant time and resources to ensure that each respective solution works with our platforms, as well as with our other products and services. If we fail to comply with domain name registry requirements, we could lose our accreditation, which would have a material adverse effect on our business.

If third-party partners fail to promote our brands or to refer new subscribers to us, fail to comply with regulations or are forced to change their marketing efforts due to new regulations or cease to be viewed as credible sources of information by our potential subscribers, we may face decreased demand for our solutions and loss of revenue. In some cases, we rely on third-party partners to purchase our solutions and resell them to their customer bases. These partners have the direct contractual relationships with our ultimate subscribers and, therefore, we risk the loss of both our third-

 

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party partners and their customers if our services fail to meet expectations or if our partners fail to perform their obligations or deliver the level of service to the ultimate subscriber that we expect.

We also rely on our relationships with our product partners whose solutions, including site builders, shopping carts and security tools, we offer to our subscribers. A majority of our offerings are provided by third parties. We may be unable to continue our relationship with any of these partners if, for example, they decline to continue to work with us or are acquired by third parties. In such an event, we may not be able to continue to offer these third-party tools to our subscribers or we may be forced to find an alternative that may be inferior to the solution that we had previously offered, which could harm our business and our operating results.

In order to offer our solutions to our subscribers, we also rely on software licensed from or hosted by third parties. In addition, we may need to obtain future licenses from third parties to use intellectual property associated with the development of our solutions, which might not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. Any loss of the right to use any software or other intellectual property required for the development and maintenance of our solutions could result in delays in the provision of our solutions until equivalent technology is either developed by us, or, if available, is identified, obtained and integrated. Any errors or defects in third-party software could result in errors or a failure of our solutions which could harm our business and operating results. Further, we cannot be certain that the owners’ rights in their technologies will not be challenged, invalidated or circumvented.

If any of the third parties on which we rely fails to perform as expected, breaches or terminates their agreement with us, or becomes engaged in a dispute with us, our reputation could be adversely affected and our business could be harmed.

Our recent or potential future acquisitions could be difficult to execute and integrate, divert the attention of key personnel, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value and impair our financial results. We may not realize anticipated benefits from our acquisitions that we have completed or may complete in the future.

We have in the past acquired, and may in the future acquire, businesses and assets to increase our growth, enhance our ability to compete in our core markets or allow us to enter new markets. We have completed many such acquisitions since our founding. Most recently, in August 2013, we agreed to acquire Directi, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of specified customary closing conditions.

Acquisitions involve numerous risks, any of which could harm our business, including:

 

  Ÿ  

difficulties in integrating the technologies, products, operations, billing systems, personnel or operations of an acquired business and realizing the anticipated benefits of the combined businesses;

 

  Ÿ  

difficulties in supporting and transitioning acquired subscribers, if any, to our platform, causing potential loss of such subscribers and damage to our reputation;

 

  Ÿ  

disruption of our ongoing business and diversion of financial, management, operations and customer support resources from existing operations;

 

  Ÿ  

to the extent an acquired company has a corporate culture or compensation arrangement different from ours, difficulty assimilating or integrating the acquired organization and its talent, which could lead to morale issues, increased turnover and lower productivity than anticipated, and could also adversely affect the culture of our existing organization;

 

  Ÿ  

the price we pay, or other resources that we devote, may exceed the value we realize, or the value we could have realized if we had allocated the purchase price or other resources to another opportunity or unanticipated costs associated with pursuing acquisitions;

 

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  Ÿ  

potential loss of an acquired business’ strategic alliances and key employees, including those employees who depart prior to transferring to us, or otherwise documenting, knowledge and information that are important to the efficient operation of the acquired business;

 

  Ÿ  

potential deployment by an acquired company of its top talent to other of its business units prior to our acquisition if we do not acquire the entirety of an acquired company’s stock or assets;

 

  Ÿ  

disruption of our business due to sellers, former employees, contractors or third-party service providers of an acquired company or business misappropriating our intellectual property, violating non-competition agreements, or otherwise causing harm to our company;

 

  Ÿ  

integration and support of redundant solutions or solutions that are outside of our core capabilities;

 

  Ÿ  

the incurrence of additional debt in order to fund an acquisition, or assumption of debt or other liabilities, including litigation risk or risks associated with other unforeseen or undisclosed liabilities, of the acquired company;

 

  Ÿ  

adverse tax consequences, including exposure to substantial penalties and fees if an acquired company failed to comply with relevant tax rules and regulations prior to our acquisition or due to substantial depreciation or deferred compensation charges; and

 

  Ÿ  

accounting effects, including potential impairment charges related to long-lived assets and requirements that we record deferred revenue at fair value.

We rely heavily on the representations and warranties provided to us by the sellers in our acquisitions, including as they relate to creation, ownership and rights in intellectual property, existence of open source software and compliance with laws and contractual requirements. If any of these representations and warranties are inaccurate or breached, we might pursue costly litigation and assessment of liability for which there may not be adequate recourse against such sellers, in part due to contractual time limitations and limitations of liability. Moreover, acquisitions frequently result in the recording of goodwill and other intangible assets which are subject to potential impairments in the future that could harm our financial results. We may also incur expenses related to completing acquisitions, or in evaluating potential acquisitions or technologies, which may adversely affect our profitability. In addition, if we finance acquisitions by issuing equity securities, our existing stockholders may be diluted.

If we fail to properly evaluate acquisitions or investments, we may not achieve the anticipated benefits of any such acquisitions and we may incur costs in excess of what we anticipate. The failure to successfully evaluate and execute acquisitions or investments or otherwise adequately address these risks could materially harm our business and financial results.

The international nature of our business and our continued international expansion expose us to business risks that could limit the effectiveness of our growth strategy and cause our operating results to suffer.

We currently maintain offices, conduct operations and/or have sales and other personnel in the United States, Brazil and India, and we intend to expand our international operations. For example, in August 2013, we agreed to acquire Directi, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of specified customary closing conditions, and we may in the future seek to make other acquisitions that help us access new international markets, enhance our data analytics and technology platform or add functionality and capabilities to our suite of products and services.

 

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Any international expansion efforts that we undertake may not be successful. In addition, conducting operations in international markets subjects us to new risks that we have not generally faced in the United States. These risks include:

 

  Ÿ  

localization of the marketing and deployment of our solutions, including translation into foreign languages and adaptation for local practices and regulatory requirements;

 

  Ÿ  

longer than expected lead times for, or the failure of, an SMB market for our solutions to develop in the countries and regions in which we are opening offices and conducting operations;

 

  Ÿ  

our inability to effectively market our solutions to SMBs due to our failure to adapt to local cultural norms, technology standards, billing and collection standards or pricing models;

 

  Ÿ  

lack of familiarity with, and burdens of, complying with foreign laws, legal standards, regulatory requirements, tariffs and other barriers, including laws related to employment or labor, or laws regarding liability of online service providers for activities of subscribers, such as infringement or illegal activities, and more stringent laws in foreign jurisdictions relating to defamation or the privacy and protection of third-party data;

 

  Ÿ  

difficulties in identifying and managing local staff, systems integrators, technology partners, and other third-party vendors and service providers;

 

  Ÿ  

differing technology practices and needs that we are not able to meet, including an increased demand from our international subscribers that our cloud-based solutions be easily accessible and operational on smartphones and tablets;

 

  Ÿ  

longer accounts receivable payment cycles and difficulties in collecting accounts receivable;

 

  Ÿ  

management, communication and integration problems resulting from cultural or language differences and geographic dispersion;

 

  Ÿ  

diversion of our management’s attention and resources to explore, negotiate, or close acquisitions and to integrate, staff and manage geographically remote operations and employees;

 

  Ÿ  

sufficiency of qualified labor pools in various international markets;

 

  Ÿ  

competition from companies with international operations, including large international competitors and entrenched local companies;

 

  Ÿ  

changes in global currency systems or fluctuations in exchange rates that may increase the volatility of or adversely affect our foreign-based revenue;

 

  Ÿ  

compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, economic sanction laws and regulations, export controls and other U.S. laws and regulations regarding international business operations;

 

  Ÿ  

potentially adverse tax consequences, including the complexities of foreign value added tax (or other tax) systems, our inadvertent failure to comply with all relevant foreign tax rules and regulations due to our lack of familiarity with the jurisdiction’s tax laws, and restrictions and withholdings on the repatriation of earnings;

 

  Ÿ  

uncertain political and economic climates; and

 

  Ÿ  

reduced or varied protection for intellectual property rights in some countries.

These factors may cause our international costs of doing business to exceed our comparable domestic costs. Any negative impact from our international business efforts could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition as a whole.

 

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In addition, our ability to expand internationally and attract and retain non-U.S. SMB subscribers may be adversely affected by concerns about the extent to which U.S. governmental and law enforcement agencies may obtain data under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Patriot Act and similar laws and regulations. Such non-U.S. SMB subscribers may decide that the privacy risks of storing data with a U.S.-based company may outweigh the benefits and opt to seek solutions from a company based outside of the United States.

Our growing operations in India and use of an India-based service provider may expose us to risks that could have an adverse effect on our costs of operations and harm our business.

We currently use India-based third-party service providers to provide certain outsourced services to support our U.S.-based operations, including email- and chat-based customer and technical support, billing support, network monitoring and engineering and development services, as well as to staff and operate our HostGator India business. See “Related Person Transactions.” As our operations grow, we may increase our use of these and other India-based outsourced service providers. Although there are cost advantages to operating in India, significant growth in the technology sector in India has increased competition to attract and retain skilled employees and has led to a commensurate increase in compensation costs. In the future, we or our third-party service providers may not be able to hire and retain such personnel at compensation levels consistent with our existing compensation and salary structure in India. In addition, upon the completion of our proposed acquisition of Directi, we will also employ an India-based workforce. Our use of a workforce in India exposes us to disruptions in the business, political and economic environment in that region. Our operations in India require us to comply with local laws and regulatory requirements, which are complex and of which we may not always be aware, and expose us to foreign currency exchange rate risk. Our Indian operations may also subject us to trade restrictions, reduced or inadequate protection for intellectual property rights, security breaches and other factors that may adversely affect our business. Negative developments in any of these areas could increase our costs of operations or otherwise harm our business.

We rely on a limited number of co-located data centers to deliver most of our services. If we are unable to renew our data center agreements on favorable terms, or at all, our operating margins and profitability could be adversely affected and our business could be harmed.

We do not own our data centers. Rather, we occupy them pursuant to co-location service agreements with third-party data center facilities which have built and maintain the co-located data centers for us and other parties. We currently serve most of our subscribers from six co-located data center facilities located in Massachusetts (two), Texas (two), Utah and California. Although we own the servers in these co-located data centers, except in the case of our Dallas, Texas facility, and engineer and architect the systems upon which our platforms run, we do not control the operation of these facilities.

The terms of our existing co-located data center agreements vary in length and expire over a period ranging from 2014 through 2020. The owners of these or our other co-located data centers have no obligation to continue such arrangements beyond their current terms, nor are they obligated to renew their agreements with us on terms acceptable to us, or at all.

Our existing co-located data center agreements may not provide us with adequate time to transfer operations to a new facility in the event of early termination or if we were unable to negotiate a short-term transition arrangement or renew these agreements on terms acceptable to us. If we were required to move our equipment to a new facility without adequate time to plan and prepare for such migration, we would face significant challenges due to the technical complexity, risk and high costs of the relocation. Any such migration would result in significant costs for us and significant downtime for large numbers of our subscribers. This could damage our reputation and cause us to lose current and potential subscribers, which would harm our operating results and financial condition.

 

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Even if we are able to renew the agreements on our existing co-located data center facilities, we expect that the lease rates will be higher than those we pay under our existing agreements. If we fail to increase our revenue by amounts sufficient to offset any increases in lease rates for these facilities, our operating results may be materially and adversely affected.

We currently intend to continue to contract with third-party data center operators, but we could be forced to re-evaluate those plans depending on the availability and cost of data center facilities, the ability to influence and control certain design aspects of the data center, and economic conditions affecting the data center operator’s ability to add additional facilities.

If our solutions and software contain serious errors or defects, then we may lose revenue and market acceptance and may incur costs to defend or settle claims.

Complex technology platforms, software applications and systems such as ours often contain errors or defects, such as errors in computer code or other systems errors, particularly when first introduced or when new versions or enhancements are released. Because we also rely on third parties to develop many of our solutions, our products and services may contain additional errors or defects as a result of the integration of the third party’s product. Despite quality assurance measures, internal testing and beta testing by our subscribers, we cannot guarantee that our current and future solutions will not be free of serious defects, which could result in lost revenue or a delay in market acceptance.

Since our subscribers use our solutions to maintain an online presence for their business, errors, defects or other performance problems could result in damage to our subscribers and their businesses. They could elect not to renew their agreements, delay or withhold payments to us, or seek significant compensation from us for the losses they or their businesses suffer. Although our subscriber agreements typically contain provisions designed to limit our exposure to certain claims, existing or future laws or unfavorable judicial decisions could negate or diminish these limitations. Even if not successful, a claim brought against us could be time-consuming and costly and could seriously damage our reputation in the marketplace, making it harder for us to acquire and retain subscribers.

Because we are required to recognize revenue for our subscription-based services over the term of the applicable subscriber agreement, changes in our sales may not be immediately reflected in our operating results. The requirement that we prepay domain registries for domain names may also lead to fluctuations in our liquidity that are not immediately reflected in our operating results. In addition, we may not have adequate reserves in the event that our historical levels of refunds increase, which could adversely affect our liquidity and profitability.

We recognize revenue from our subscribers ratably over the respective terms of their agreements with us. These contracts are generally for service periods of up to 36 months. Accordingly, increases in sales during a particular period do not translate into corresponding increases in revenue during that same period, and a substantial portion of the revenue that we recognize during a quarter is derived from deferred revenue from our agreements with subscribers that we entered into during previous quarters. As a result, we may not generate net earnings despite substantial sales activity during a particular period, since we are not allowed under applicable accounting rules to recognize all of the revenue from these sales immediately, and because we are required to record a significant portion of our related operating expenses during that period. Conversely, the existence of substantial deferred revenue may prevent deteriorating sales activity from becoming immediately apparent in our reported operating results.

In addition, we may not be able to adjust spending in a timely manner to compensate for any unexpected revenue shortfall, and any significant shortfall in revenue relative to planned expenditures could adversely affect our business and operating results.

 

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In connection with our domain registration services, as a registrar, we are required under our agreements with domain registries to prepay the domain registry for the term for which a domain is registered. We recognize this prepayment as an asset on our consolidated balance sheet and record domain revenue and the domain registration expense ratably over the term that a domain is registered. This cash payment to the domain registry may lead to fluctuations in our liquidity that is not immediately reflected in our operating results.

In addition, our standard terms of service permit our subscribers to seek refunds from us in certain instances, and we maintain reserves to provide such refunds. The amount of such reserves is based on the amount of refunds that we have provided in the past. If our actual level of refund claims exceeds our estimates and our refund reserves are not adequate to cover such claims, our liquidity or profitability could be adversely affected.

We depend on the experience and expertise of our senior management team, and the loss of any member of our senior management team could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

Our success and future performance depends in significant part upon the continued service of our senior management team, particularly Hari Ravichandran, our founder, president and chief executive officer. The members of our senior management team are not contractually obligated to remain employed by us. Accordingly, and in spite of our efforts to retain our senior management team with long-term equity incentives, any member of our senior management team could terminate his or her employment with us at any time and go to work for one of our competitors after the expiration of his or her non-compete period. The replacement of members of our senior management team likely would involve significant time and expense, and the loss of one or more members of our senior management team could significantly delay, prevent the achievement of or make it more difficult for us to pursue and execute on our business objectives, and could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

Our growth will be adversely affected if we cannot continue to successfully retain, hire, train and manage our key employees.

Our ability to successfully pursue our growth strategy will depend on our ability to attract, retain and motivate key employees across our business. In particular, we are dependent on our platform engineers and those who manage our customer sales and service employees. We face intense competition for these and other employees from numerous technology, software and manufacturing companies, and we cannot ensure that we will be able to attract, integrate or retain additional qualified employees in the future. For example, our competitors may be able to attract and retain more qualified platform engineering, product development, software engineering and marketing employees and customer sales and service managers by offering more competitive compensation packages. If we are unable to attract new employees and retain our current employees, we may not be able to develop and maintain our services at the same levels as our competitors and we may, therefore, lose subscribers and market share. Our failure to attract and retain qualified individuals could have an adverse effect on our ability to execute on our business objectives and, as a result, our ability to compete could decrease, our operating results could suffer and our revenue could decrease.

We are subject to governmental regulation and other legal obligations, particularly related to privacy, data protection and information security, and our actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could harm our business. Compliance with such laws could also impair our efforts to maintain and expand our subscriber base, and thereby decrease our revenue.

We are subject to a variety of laws and regulations, including regulation by various government agencies, including the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, and various state and local agencies.

 

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We collect personally identifiable information and other data from our subscribers and prospective subscribers. We use this information to provide services to our subscribers, to support, expand and improve our business and, subject to each subscriber’s or prospective subscriber’s right to decline, or opt-out, we may use this information to market other products and services to them. We may also share subscribers’ personally identifiable information with third parties as authorized by the subscriber or as described in the applicable privacy policy.

The U.S. federal and various state and foreign governments have adopted or proposed limitations on the collection, distribution, use and storage of personal information of individuals, and the FTC and many state attorneys general are applying federal and state consumer protection laws as imposing standards for the online collection, use and dissemination of data. However, these obligations may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another and may conflict with other requirements or our practices. Any failure or perceived failure by us to comply with privacy or security laws, policies, legal obligations or industry standards or any security incident that results in the unauthorized release or transfer of personally identifiable information or other subscriber data may result in governmental enforcement actions, litigation, fines and penalties and/or adverse publicity and could cause our subscribers to lose trust in us, which could have an adverse effect on our reputation and business.

Some proposed laws or regulations concerning privacy, data protection and information security are in their early stages, and we cannot yet determine the impact these laws and regulations, if implemented, may have on our business. Future laws or regulations could impair our ability to collect and/or use user information that we use to provide targeted advertising to our users, thereby impairing our ability to maintain and grow our subscriber base and increase revenue. Future restrictions on the collection, use, sharing or disclosure of our subscribers’ data or additional requirements for express or implied consent of subscribers for the use and disclosure of such information could require us to modify our solutions and features, possibly in a material manner, and could limit our ability to develop new services and features.

In addition, several foreign countries and governmental bodies, including the European Union and Canada, have regulations dealing with the collection and use of personal information obtained from their residents, which are often more restrictive than those in the United States. Laws and regulations in these jurisdictions apply broadly to the collection, use, storage, disclosure and security of personal information that identifies or may be used to identify an individual, such as names, email addresses, and in some jurisdictions, Internet Protocol, or IP, addresses. Although we are working to comply with those regulations that apply to us, such regulations and laws may be modified and new laws may be enacted in the future. Within the European Union, legislators are currently considering a revision to the 1995 European Union Data Protection Directive that may include more stringent operational requirements for processors and controllers of personal information and that would impose significant penalties for non-compliance. If our privacy or data security measures fail to comply with current or future laws and regulations, we may be subject to litigation, regulatory investigations, fines or other liabilities, as well as negative publicity and a potential loss of business. Moreover, if future laws and regulations limit our subscribers’ ability to use and share personal information or our ability to store, process and share personal information, demand for our solutions could decrease, our costs could increase, and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be harmed.

In recent years, U.S. and European lawmakers and regulators have expressed concern over the use of third-party cookies or web beacons for online behavioral advertising, and legislation adopted recently in the European Union requires informed consent for the placement of a cookie on a user’s device. Although we are working to comply with this legislation, we are not yet in full compliance. Regulation of cookies and web beacons may lead to broader restrictions on our research activities, including efforts to understand users’ Internet usage. Such regulations may have a chilling effect on

 

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businesses, such as ours, that collect and use online usage information and may increase the cost of maintaining a business that collects or uses online usage information, increase regulatory scrutiny and increase the potential for civil liability under consumer protection laws. In response to marketplace concerns about the usage of third-party cookies and web beacons to track user behaviors, providers of major browsers have included features that allow users to limit the collection of certain data in general or from specified websites. These developments could impair our ability to collect user information that helps us provide more targeted advertising to our users.

In addition, in connection with the marketing and advertisement of our products and services, we could be the target of claims relating to false or deceptive advertising, including under the auspices of the FTC and the consumer protection statutes of some states.

New interpretations of existing laws, regulations or standards could require us to incur additional costs and restrict our business operations, and any failure by us to comply with applicable requirements may result in governmental enforcement actions, litigation, fines and penalties or adverse publicity, which could have an adverse effect on our reputation and business.

Security and privacy breaches may harm our business.

Due to the fact that our solutions are cloud-based, we store and transmit large amounts of sensitive, confidential, personal and proprietary information over public communications networks. Any security breach, virus, accident, employee error, criminal activity or malfeasance, fraudulent service plan order, impersonation scam perpetrated against us, intentional misconduct by computer hackers or similar breach or disruption could result in unauthorized access, usage or disclosure, or loss of, confidential information, as well as interruptions, delays or cessation of service to our subscribers, each of which may cause damage to our reputation and result in increased security costs, litigation, regulatory investigations or other liabilities. For example, in February 2012, prior to our acquisition of HostGator, a HostGator employee obtained unauthorized access to systems running HostGator subscribers’ websites, which would have permitted the employee to access private and confidential information stored on those websites. Although HostGator implemented system fixes and took other steps to prevent such security breaches prior to our acquisition of that company in July 2012, similar security breaches of subscriber information on our systems may occur in the future. The risk that these types of events could seriously harm our business is likely to increase as we expand the number of technology solutions and services that we offer and expand our operations in foreign countries.

In addition, many states in which we have subscribers have enacted regulations requiring us to notify subscribers in the event that certain subscriber information is accessed, or believed to have been accessed, without authorization, and in some cases also develop proscriptive policies to protect against such unauthorized access. Such notifications can result in private causes of action being filed against us. Should we experience a loss of protected data, efforts to enhance controls, assure compliance and address penalties imposed by such regulatory regimes could increase our costs.

Organizations generally, and Internet-based organizations in particular, remain vulnerable to highly targeted attacks aimed at exploiting network-specific applications or weaknesses. Techniques used to obtain unauthorized access to, or to sabotage, systems often are not recognized until launched against a target. Hackers are increasingly using powerful new tactics including evasive applications, proxies, tunneling, encryption techniques, vulnerability exploits, buffer overflows, denial of service attacks, or DDoS attacks, botnets and port scans. For example, from time to time, we and many other Internet-based businesses are the targets of DDoS attacks in which attackers attempt to block subscribers’ access to our websites. If we are unable to avert a DDoS or other attack for any significant period, we could sustain substantial revenue loss from lost sales and subscriber dissatisfaction. We may not have the resources or technical sophistication to anticipate or prevent rapidly evolving types of

 

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cyber-attacks. Moreover, we may not be able to immediately detect that such an attack has been launched, if, for example, unauthorized access to our systems was obtained without our knowledge in preparation for an attack contemplated to commence in the future. Cyber-attacks may target us, our subscribers, our partners, banks, credit card processors, delivery services, e-commerce in general or the communication infrastructure on which we depend.

Our subscribers may also use weak passwords, accidentally disclose their passwords or store them on a mobile device that is lost or stolen, or otherwise compromise the security of their data, creating the perception that our systems are not secure against third-party access. In addition, if third parties with which we work, such as vendors or developers, violate applicable laws or our policies, such violations may also put our subscribers’ information at risk and could in turn have an adverse effect on our business.

If an actual or perceived security breach occurs, the market’s perception of our security measures could be harmed and we could lose sales and current and potential subscribers. Any significant violations of data privacy could result in the loss of business, litigation and regulatory investigations and penalties that could damage our reputation and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. Furthermore, if a high profile security breach occurs with respect to another provider of cloud-based technologies, our subscribers and potential subscribers may lose trust in the security of these business models generally, which could harm our ability to retain existing subscribers or attract new ones.

Failure to adequately protect and enforce our intellectual property rights could substantially harm our business and operating results.

We have devoted substantial resources to the development of our intellectual property, proprietary technologies and related processes. In order to protect our intellectual property, proprietary technologies and processes, we rely upon a combination of trademark, patent and trade secret law, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual restrictions. These afford only limited protection, may not prevent disclosure of confidential information, may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of misappropriation or unauthorized disclosure, and may not now or in the future provide us with a competitive advantage. Despite our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights, unauthorized parties, including employees, subscribers and third parties, may make unauthorized or infringing use of our products, services, software and other functionality, in whole or in part, or obtain and use information that we consider proprietary.

Policing our proprietary rights and protecting our brands and domain names is difficult and costly and may not always be effective. In addition, we may need to enforce our rights under the laws of countries that do not protect proprietary rights to as great an extent as do the laws of the United States and any changes in, or unexpected interpretations of, the intellectual property laws in any country in which we operate may compromise our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights.

We have registered, or applied to register, the trademarks associated with several of our leading brands in the United States and in certain other countries. Competitors may have adopted, and in the future may adopt, service or product names similar to ours, which could impede our ability to build our brands’ identities and possibly lead to confusion. In addition, there could be potential trade name or trademark infringement claims brought by owners of other registered trademarks or trademarks that incorporate variations of the terms or designs of one of our trademarks.

Litigation or proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or other governmental authorities and administrative bodies in the United States and abroad may be necessary to enforce our intellectual property rights or to defend against claims of infringement or invalidity. Such litigation or

 

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proceedings could be costly, time-consuming and distracting to our management, result in a diversion of resources, the impairment or loss of portions of our intellectual property, and have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results. There can be no assurance that our efforts to enforce or protect our proprietary rights will be adequate or that our competitors will not independently develop similar technology. In addition, the legal standards relating to the validity, enforceability and scope of protection of intellectual property rights on the Internet are uncertain and still evolving. Our failure to meaningfully establish and protect our intellectual property could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could substantially harm our business and operating results.

We could incur substantial costs as a result of any claim of infringement of another party’s intellectual property rights.

In recent years, there has been significant litigation in the United States and abroad involving patents and other intellectual property rights. Companies providing Internet-based products and services are increasingly bringing and becoming subject to suits alleging infringement of proprietary rights, particularly patent rights, and to the extent we face increasing competition and become increasingly visible as a publicly-traded company, or if we become more successful, the possibility of intellectual property infringement claims may increase. In addition, our exposure to risks associated with the use of intellectual property may increase as a result of acquisitions that we make or our use of software licensed from or hosted by third parties, as we have less visibility into the development process with respect to such technology or the care taken to safeguard against infringement risks. Third parties may make infringement and similar or related claims after we have acquired or licensed technology that had not been asserted prior to our acquisition or license. To the extent we expand our international activities, our exposure to unauthorized copying and use of our products and proprietary information may increase.

Many companies are devoting significant resources to obtaining patents that could affect many aspects of our business. Since we do not have a significant patent portfolio, this may prevent us from deterring patent infringement claims, and our competitors and others may now and in the future have significantly larger and more mature patent portfolios than we have.

We have filed several patent applications in the United States and foreign counterpart filings for some of those applications. We cannot assure you that any patents will issue from any such patent applications, that patents that issue from such applications will give us the protection that we seek, or that any such patents will not be challenged, invalidated or circumvented. Any patents that may issue in the future from our pending or future patent applications may not provide sufficiently broad protection and may not be enforceable in actions against alleged infringers.

The risk of patent litigation has been amplified by the increase in certain third parties, so-called “non-practicing entities,” whose sole business is to assert patent claims and against which our own intellectual property portfolio may provide little deterrent value. We could incur substantial costs in prosecuting or defending any intellectual property litigation. If we sue to enforce our rights or are sued by a third party that claims that our solutions infringe its rights, the litigation could be expensive and could divert our management’s time and attention. Even a threat of litigation could result in substantial expense and time.

Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure. In addition, during the course of any such litigation, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock.

 

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Any intellectual property litigation to which we might become a party, or for which we are required to provide indemnification, may require us to do one or more of the following:

 

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cease selling or using solutions that incorporate the intellectual property that our solutions allegedly infringe;

 

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make substantial payments for legal fees, settlement payments or other costs or damages;

 

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obtain a license, which may not be available on reasonable terms or at all, to sell or use the relevant technology; or

 

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redesign the allegedly infringing solutions to avoid infringement, which could be costly, time-consuming or impossible.

If we are required to make substantial payments or undertake any of the other actions noted above as a result of any intellectual property infringement claims against us, our business or operating results could be harmed.

Our use of “open source” software could adversely affect our ability to sell our services and subject us to possible litigation.

We use open source software, such as OpenStack, in providing a substantial portion of our solutions, and we may incorporate additional open source software in the future. Such open source software is generally licensed by its authors or other third parties under open source licenses. If we fail to comply with these licenses, we may be subject to certain conditions, including requirements that we offer our solutions that incorporate the open source software for no cost; that we make available source code for modifications or derivative works we create based upon, incorporating or using the open source software; and/or that we license such modifications or derivative works under the terms of the particular open source license. In addition, if a third-party software provider has incorporated open source software into software that we license from such provider, we could be required to disclose any of our source code that incorporates or is a modification of such licensed software. If an author or other third party that distributes such open source software were to allege that we had not complied with the conditions of one or more of these licenses, we could be required to incur significant legal expenses defending such allegations and could be subject to significant damages, enjoined from the sale of our solutions that contained the open source software, and required to comply with the foregoing conditions, which could disrupt the distribution and sale of some of our solutions. In addition, there have been claims challenging the ownership of open source software against companies that incorporate open source software into their products. As a result, we could be subject to suits by parties claiming ownership of what we believe to be open source software. Such litigation could be costly for us to defend, have a negative effect on our operating results and financial condition or require us to devote additional research and development resources to change our products.

We could face liability, or our reputation might be harmed, as a result of the activities of our subscribers, the content of their websites or the data they store on our servers.

Our role as a provider of cloud-based solutions, including website hosting services and domain registration services, may subject us to potential liability for the activities of our subscribers on or in connection with their websites or domain names or for the data they store on our servers. Although our subscriber terms of use prohibit illegal use of our services by our subscribers and permit us to take down websites or take other appropriate actions for illegal use, subscribers may nonetheless engage in prohibited activities or upload or store content with us in violation of applicable law or the subscriber’s own policies, which could subject us to liability.

 

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Several U.S. federal statutes may apply to us with respect to various subscriber activities:

 

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The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, or DMCA, provides recourse for owners of copyrighted material who believe that their rights under U.S. copyright law have been infringed on the Internet. Under the DMCA, based on our current business activity as an Internet service provider that does not own or control website content posted by our subscribers, we generally are not liable for infringing content posted by our subscribers or other third parties, provided that we follow the procedures for handling copyright infringement claims set forth in the DMCA. Generally, if we receive a proper notice from, or on behalf, of a copyright owner alleging infringement of copyrighted material located on websites we host, and we fail to expeditiously remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material or otherwise fail to meet the requirements of the safe harbor provided by the DMCA, the copyright owner may seek to impose liability on us. Technical mistakes in complying with the detailed DMCA take-down procedures could subject us to liability for copyright infringement.

 

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The Communications Decency Act of 1996, or CDA, generally protects online service providers, such as us, from liability for certain activities of their customers, such as the posting of defamatory or obscene content, unless the online service provider is participating in the unlawful conduct. Under the CDA, we are generally not responsible for the subscriber-created content hosted on our servers. Consequently, we do not monitor hosted websites or prescreen the content placed by our subscribers on their sites. However, the CDA does not apply in foreign jurisdictions and we may nonetheless be brought into disputes between our subscribers and third parties which would require us to devote management time and resources to resolve such matters and any publicity from such matters could also have an adverse effect on our reputation and therefore our business.

 

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In addition to the CDA, the Securing the Protection of our Enduring and Established Constitutional Heritage Act, or the SPEECH Act, provides a statutory exception to the enforcement by a U.S. court of a foreign judgment for defamation under certain circumstances. Generally, the exception applies if the defamation law applied in the foreign court did not provide at least as much protection for freedom of speech and press as would be provided by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution or by the constitution and law of the state in which the U.S. court is located, or if no finding of defamation would be supported under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution or under the constitution and law of the state in which the U.S. court is located. Although the SPEECH Act may protect us from the enforcement of foreign judgments in the United States, it does not affect the enforceability of the judgment in the foreign country that issued the judgment. Given our international presence, we may therefore, nonetheless, have to defend against or comply with any foreign judgments made against us, which could take up substantial management time and resources and damage our reputation.

Although these statutes and case law in the United States have generally shielded us from liability for subscriber activities to date, court rulings in pending or future litigation may narrow the scope of protection afforded us under these laws. In addition, laws governing these activities are unsettled in many international jurisdictions, or may prove difficult or impossible for us to comply with in some international jurisdictions. Also, notwithstanding the exculpatory language of these bodies of law, we may be embroiled in complaints and lawsuits which, even if ultimately resolved in our favor, add cost to our doing business and may divert management’s time and attention. Finally, other existing bodies of law, including the criminal laws of various states, may be deemed to apply or new statutes or regulations may be adopted in the future, any of which could expose us to further liability and increase our costs of doing business.

 

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We may face liability for, or become involved in disputes over, ownership or control of subscriber accounts, websites or domain names.

As a provider of cloud-based solutions, including as a registrar of domain names and related services, we from time to time become aware of disputes over ownership or control of subscriber accounts, websites or domain names. For example, disputes may arise as a result of a subscriber’s engaging a webmaster or other third party to help set up a web hosting account, register or renew a domain name, build a website, upload content, or set up email or other services.

We could face potential tort law liability for our failure to renew a subscriber’s domain, and we have faced such liability in the past. We could also face potential tort law liability for our role in the wrongful transfer of control or ownership of accounts, websites or domain names. The safeguards and procedures we have adopted may not be successful in insulating us against liability from such claims in the future. In addition, we face potential liability for other forms of account, website or domain name “hijacking,” including misappropriation by third parties of our network of subscriber accounts, websites or domain names and attempts by third parties to operate accounts, websites or domain names or to extort the subscriber whose accounts, websites or domain names were misappropriated. Furthermore, our risk of incurring liability for a security breach on or in connection with a subscriber account, website or domain name would increase if the security breach were to occur following our sale to a subscriber of an SSL certificate that proved ineffectual in preventing it. Finally, we are exposed to potential liability as a result of our domain privacy service, wherein the identity and contact details for the domain name registrant are masked. Although our terms of service reserve the right to provide the underlying WHOIS information and/or to cancel privacy services on domain names giving rise to domain name disputes, including when we receive reasonable evidence of an actionable harm, the safeguards we have in place may not be sufficient to avoid liability, which could increase our costs of doing business.

Occasionally a subscriber may register a domain name that is identical or similar to another party’s trademark or the name of a living person. Disputes involving registration or control of domain names are often resolved through the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, or UDRP, ICANN’s administrative process for domain name dispute resolution, or less frequently through litigation under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, or ACPA, or under general theories of trademark infringement or dilution. The UDRP generally does not impose liability on registrars, and the ACPA provides that registrars may not be held liable for registering or maintaining a domain name absent a showing of bad faith, intent to profit or reckless disregard of a court order by the registrar. However, we may face liability if we fail to comply in a timely manner with procedural requirements under these rules. In addition, these processes typically require at least limited involvement by us and, therefore, increase our cost of doing business. The volume of domain name registration disputes may increase in the future as the overall number of registered domain names increases.

We are subject to governmental export controls and economic sanctions laws that could impair our ability to compete in international markets and subject us to liability if we are not in full compliance with applicable laws.

Our business activities are subject to various restrictions under U.S. export controls and trade and economic sanctions laws, including the U.S. Commerce Department’s Export Administration Regulations and economic and trade sanctions regulations maintained by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. If we fail to comply with these laws and regulations, we and certain of our employees could be subject to civil or criminal penalties and reputational harm. In addition, if our third-party resellers fail to comply with these laws and regulations in their dealings, we could face potential liability or penalties for violations. Obtaining the necessary authorizations, including any required license, for a particular transaction may be time-consuming, is not guaranteed, and may result in the delay or loss of sales opportunities. Furthermore, U.S. export control laws and economic

 

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sanctions laws prohibit certain transactions with U.S. embargoed or sanctioned countries, governments, persons and entities. Although we take precautions to prevent transactions with U.S. sanction targets, we have in the past inadvertently provided our solutions to persons prohibited by U.S. sanctions, and there is some risk that in the future we or our resellers could provide our solutions to such targets despite such precautions. This could result in negative consequences to us, including government investigations, penalties and reputational harm.

Changes in our solutions or changes in export and import regulations may create delays in the introduction and sale of our solutions in international markets, prevent our subscribers with international operations from deploying our solutions or, in some cases, prevent the export or import of our solutions to certain countries, governments or persons altogether. Any change in export or import regulations, shift in the enforcement or scope of existing regulations, or change in the countries, governments, persons or technologies targeted by such regulations, could result in decreased use of our solutions or decreased ability to export or sell our solutions to existing or potential subscribers with international operations. Any decreased use of our solutions or limitation on our ability to export or sell our solutions would likely adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

Adverse economic conditions in the United States and international economies could harm our operating results.

Unfavorable general economic conditions, such as a recession or economic slowdown in the United States or in one or more of our other major markets, could adversely affect the affordability of, and demand for, our solutions. The recent national and global economic downturn affected many sectors of the economy and resulted in, among other things, declines in overall economic growth, consumer and corporate confidence and spending; increases in unemployment rates; and uncertainty about economic stability. These uncertainties may affect our business in a number of ways, making it difficult to accurately forecast and plan our future business activities. In particular, SMB spending patterns are difficult to predict and are sensitive to the general economic climate, the economic outlook specific to the SMB industry, the SMB’s level of profitability and debt and overall consumer confidence. Although the economy has shown signs of stabilization, there is no guarantee as to when or if overall SMB or consumer spending will return to pre-recession levels. Our solutions may be considered discretionary by many of our current and potential subscribers and be dependent upon levels of consumer spending. As a result, resellers and consumers considering whether to purchase our solutions may be influenced by macroeconomic factors that affect SMB and consumer spending such as unemployment, continuing increases in fuel costs, conditions in the real estate and mortgage markets and access to credit.

To the extent conditions in the economy deteriorate, our business could be harmed as subscribers may reduce or postpone spending and choose to discontinue our solutions, decrease their service level, delay subscribing for our solutions or stop purchasing our solutions all together. In addition, our efforts to attract new subscribers may be adversely affected. Weakening economic conditions may also adversely affect third parties with which we have entered into relationships and upon which we depend in order to grow our business, which could detract from the quality or timeliness of the products or services such parties provide to us and could adversely affect our reputation and relationships with our subscribers. In uncertain and adverse economic conditions, decreased consumer spending is likely to result in a variety of negative effects such as reduction in revenue, increased costs, lower gross margin percentages, increased allowances for doubtful accounts and write-offs of accounts receivable and recognition of impairments of assets, including goodwill and other intangible assets. Uncertainty and adverse economic conditions may also lead to a decreased ability to collect payment for our solutions and services due primarily to a decline in the ability of our subscribers to use or access credit, including through credit cards, which is how most of our subscribers pay for our services. We also expect to continue to experience volatility in foreign exchange rates, which could

 

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adversely affect the amount of expenses we incur and the revenue we record in future periods. If any of the above risks are realized, we may experience a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

Impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets would result in a decrease in earnings.

Current accounting rules provide that goodwill and other intangible assets with indefinite useful lives may not be amortized, but instead must be tested for impairment at least annually. These rules also require that intangible assets with definite useful lives be amortized over their respective estimated useful lives to their estimated residual values, and reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. We have substantial goodwill and other intangible assets, and we would be required to record a significant charge to earnings in our financial statements during the period in which any impairment of our goodwill or intangible assets is determined. Any impairment charges or changes to the estimated amortization periods could have a material adverse effect on our financial results.

Risks Related to Our Substantial Indebtedness

Our substantial level of indebtedness could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and prevent us from fulfilling our obligations under our credit agreements and with respect to our other indebtedness.

We now have, and expect to continue to have, significant indebtedness that could result in a material and adverse effect on our business. As of June 30, 2013, we had approximately $1,134.0 million of aggregate indebtedness. In August 2013, we borrowed additional amounts, net of repayments, of approximately $53.0 million, as described in “Description of Indebtedness.” This high level of debt could have important consequences, including:

 

  Ÿ  

increasing our vulnerability to general adverse economic and industry conditions;

 

  Ÿ  

requiring us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to payments on our indebtedness, thereby reducing the availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions, research and development efforts and other general corporate purposes;

 

  Ÿ  

limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and the industry in which we operate;

 

  Ÿ  

placing us at a competitive disadvantage if any of our competitors has less debt;

 

  Ÿ  

restricting our ability to pay dividends on our capital stock or redeem, repurchase or retire our capital stock or indebtedness;

 

  Ÿ  

limiting our ability to borrow additional funds;

 

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exposing us to the risk of increased interest rates as certain of our borrowings are, and may in the future be, at variable interest rates; and

 

  Ÿ  

making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our debt, including our obligation to repay amounts borrowed under our credit facilities under certain circumstances.

The occurrence of any one of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to satisfy our obligations under our outstanding credit agreements.

 

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The terms of our credit agreements impose restrictions on our business, reducing our operational flexibility and creating default risks. Failure to comply with these restrictions, or other events, could result in default under these agreements that could trigger an acceleration of our indebtedness that we may not be able to repay.

Our credit agreements require compliance with a set of financial and non-financial covenants. These covenants contain numerous restrictions on our ability to incur additional debt, make restricted payments (including any dividends or other distributions in respect of our capital stock), sell assets, enter into affiliate transactions and take other actions. For a more detailed description of our indebtedness, see “Description of Indebtedness.” As a result, we may be restricted from engaging in business activities that may otherwise improve our business or from financing future operations or capital needs. Failure to comply with the covenants, if not cured or waived, could result in an event of default that could trigger acceleration of our indebtedness, which would require us to repay all amounts owing under the credit agreements and could have a material adverse impact on our business. Our credit agreements also contain provisions that trigger repayment obligations or an event of default upon a change of control, as well as various representations and warranties which, if breached, could lead to an event of default. We cannot be certain that our future operating results will be sufficient to ensure compliance with the covenants in our credit agreements or to remedy any defaults under our credit agreements. In addition, in the event of any default and related acceleration, we may not have or be able to obtain sufficient funds to make any accelerated payments.

To service our indebtedness, we will require a significant amount of cash. Our ability to generate cash depends on many factors beyond our control.

As of June 30, 2013, we had approximately $1,134.0 million of aggregate indebtedness, consisting of $796.0 million outstanding under our first lien term loan facility, $315.0 million outstanding under our second lien term loan facility and $23.0 million outstanding under our revolving credit facility. In August 2013, we borrowed an additional $90.0 million under our first lien term loan facility and repaid $37.0 million, which was the total amount then outstanding, under our revolving credit facility. Under our first lien term loan facility, we are required to repay approximately $2.2 million of principal at the end of each quarter and are required to pay accrued interest upon the maturity of each interest accrual period. Under our second lien term loan facility, we are not required to make any periodic repayments but are required to pay accrued interest upon the maturity of each interest accrual period. Interest accrual periods under each loan facility are typically three months in duration. The actual amounts of our debt servicing payments vary based on the amounts of indebtedness outstanding, the applicable interest accrual periods and the applicable interest rates, which vary based on prescribed formulas.

We expect to obtain the necessary funds to pay our expenses and the amounts due under our credit agreements from this offering and thereafter from our operations. Our ability to pay our expenses and make these payments therefore depends on our future performance, which will be affected by financial, business, economic and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. Our business may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations in the future, which could result in our being unable to repay indebtedness, including the obligations under our credit agreements, or to fund other liquidity needs. If we do not have sufficient funds, we may be required to sell assets or incur additional indebtedness. We may need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness, including one or both of our credit agreements, at or before maturity. We may not be able to accomplish any of these alternatives on terms acceptable to us, or at all. In addition, the terms of existing or future credit agreements may restrict us from adopting any of these alternatives. The failure to generate sufficient cash flow or to achieve any of these alternatives could materially adversely affect our ability to pay the amounts due under our credit agreements.

 

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EIG Investors, the borrower under our credit agreements, is a holding company, and therefore its ability to make any required payment on our credit agreements depends upon the ability of its subsidiaries to pay it dividends or to advance it funds.

EIG Investors, the borrower under our credit agreements, has no direct operations and no significant assets other than the stock of its subsidiaries. Because it conducts its operations through its operating subsidiaries, EIG Investors depends on those entities to generate the funds necessary to meet its financial obligations, including its required obligations under our credit agreements. The ability of our subsidiaries to make transfers and other distributions to EIG Investors will be subject to, among other things, the terms of any debt instruments of such subsidiaries then in effect and applicable law. If transfers or other distributions from our subsidiaries to EIG Investors were eliminated, delayed, reduced or otherwise impaired, our ability to make payments on the obligations under our credit agreements would be substantially impaired.

Risks Related to this Offering and Ownership of Our Common Stock

An active trading market for our common stock may not develop, and you may not be able to resell your shares of our common stock at or above the initial offering price.

Before this offering, there was no public trading market for our common stock. If a market for our common stock does not develop or is not sustained, it may be difficult for you to sell your shares of common stock at an attractive price, at the time that you would like to sell them, or at all. The initial public offering price of our common stock will be determined through negotiations between us and the underwriters. This initial public offering price may not be indicative of the market price of our common stock after the offering. We cannot predict the prices at which our common stock will trade. It is possible that in one or more future periods our results of operations may be below the expectations of public market analysts and investors and, as a result of these and other factors, the price of our common stock may fall.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile, which could result in substantial losses for investors purchasing shares in this offering.

The market price of our common stock could be subject to significant fluctuations after this offering, and it may decline below the initial public offering price. Some of the factors that may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate include:

 

  Ÿ  

price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time;

 

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significant volatility in the market price and trading volume of comparable companies;

 

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actual or anticipated changes in our earnings or fluctuations in our operating results or in the expectations of securities analysts;

 

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announcements of technological innovations, new products, strategic alliances, or significant agreements by us or by our competitors;

 

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litigation involving us;

 

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investors’ general perception of us;

 

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changes in general economic, industry and market conditions and trends; and

 

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recruitment or departure of key personnel.

 

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In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. Because of the potential volatility of our stock price, we may become the target of securities litigation in the future. Securities litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources from our business.

Because a substantial portion of our proceeds from this offering will be used to repay outstanding indebtedness, only a portion of our proceeds from this offering may be used to further invest in our business. We will have broad discretion in the use of the remaining proceeds and may not use them effectively.

Our management will have broad discretion to use our net proceeds from this offering, and you will be relying on the judgment of our management regarding the application of these proceeds. We expect to use a portion of the approximately $         million of our net proceeds from this offering, assuming an initial public offering price of $         per share (the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus), to repay $         million of indebtedness outstanding under our              loan facility and to satisfy all or a portion of our payment obligations at the closing of our proposed acquisition of Directi, with the balance, if any, to be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes. As a result, a significant portion of our net proceeds of this offering will not be invested in our business, and therefore the value of your investment may not be increased. Because we will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering, our management may fail to apply these funds effectively, which could adversely affect our ability to operate and grow our business. You will not have the opportunity to influence our decisions on how to use our net proceeds from this offering.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish, or cease publishing, research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they publish negative evaluations of our stock, the price of our stock and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our market or our competitors. We do not currently have and may never obtain research coverage by industry or financial analysts. If no or few analysts commence coverage of us, the trading price of our stock would likely decrease. Even if we do obtain analyst coverage, if one or more of the analysts covering our business downgrade their evaluations of our stock, the price of our stock could decline. If one or more of these analysts cease to cover our stock, we could lose visibility in the market for our stock, which in turn could cause our stock price to decline.

A significant portion of our total outstanding shares may be sold into the public market in the near future, which could cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could occur at any time after the expiration of the lock-up agreements described in the “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)” section of this prospectus. These sales, or the market perception that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock. After this offering, we will have              shares of common stock outstanding based on the number of shares outstanding as of                     , 2013. This includes the              shares that we are selling in this offering, which may be resold in the public market immediately. Of our remaining shares,              shares, or     % of our outstanding shares after this offering (plus any shares of our common stock that are issued to Directi Web Technologies Holdings, Inc., or Directi Holdings, in connection with the Directi acquisition), are or will be restricted as a result of securities laws or lock-up agreements but, following expiration or waiver of the restrictions under applicable lock-up agreements, will be able to be sold, subject to any

 

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applicable volume limitations under federal securities laws with respect to affiliate sales, in the near future as set forth below.

 

Number of Shares and % of Total Outstanding

  

Date Available for Sale Into Public Market

             shares, or     %

   On the date of this prospectus

             shares, or     %

   90 days after the date of this prospectus

             shares, or     %

   180 days after the date of this prospectus, subject to extension in specified instances, due to lock-up agreements between the holders of these shares and the underwriters. However,              can waive the provisions of these lock-up agreements and allow these stockholders to sell their shares at any time (provided that only Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC may waive the provisions of these lock-up agreements with respect to shares held by Goldman Sachs).

In addition, after this offering, holders of an aggregate of              shares of our common stock as of                     , 2013, will have rights, subject to some conditions, to require us to file registration statements covering their shares or to include their shares in registration statements that we may file for ourselves or other stockholders. We also intend to register all shares of common stock that we may issue under our employee benefit plans. Once we register these shares, subject to any contractual lock-ups, they can be freely sold in the public market upon issuance, subject to the lock-up agreements and the restrictions imposed on our affiliates under Rule 144.

Insiders will continue to have substantial control over us after this offering, which could limit your ability to influence the outcome of key transactions, including a change of control.

After this offering, our directors and executive officers and their affiliates will beneficially own, in the aggregate,     % of our outstanding common stock, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of our common stock in this offering. Specifically, investment funds and entities affiliated with Warburg Pincus will own, in the aggregate,     % of our outstanding common stock, and investment funds and entities affiliated with Goldman Sachs will own, in the aggregate, approximately     % of our outstanding common stock, after this offering, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of our common stock in this offering. As a result, these stockholders, if they act together, could have significant influence over the outcome of matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. In addition, these stockholders, if they were to act together, could have significant influence over the management and affairs of our company. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of our company and might affect the market price of our common stock. In particular, Warburg Pincus’ and Goldman Sachs’ significant ownership interest in our common stock could adversely affect investors’ perceptions of our corporate governance practices.

Some of these persons or entities may have interests different than yours. For example, because many of these stockholders purchased their shares at prices substantially below the price at which shares are being sold in this offering and have held their shares for a longer period, they may be more interested in selling our company to an acquirer than other investors or may want us to pursue strategies that deviate from the interests of other stockholders.

 

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Although we do not expect to rely on the “controlled company” exemption, we will be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NASDAQ Listing Rules, and we will therefore qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.

We will be considered a “controlled company” under the NASDAQ Listing Rules. Under these rules, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by another person or group of persons acting together is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain NASDAQ Listing Rules regarding corporate governance, including:

 

  Ÿ  

the requirement that a majority of our board of directors consist of independent directors;

 

  Ÿ  

the requirement that our nominating and corporate governance committee be composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and

 

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the requirement that our compensation committee be composed entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities.

These requirements will not apply to us as long as we remain a “controlled company.” Although we currently qualify as a “controlled company,” we do not expect to rely on this exemption and we intend to fully comply with all corporate governance requirements under the NASDAQ Listing Rules. However, if we were to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you may not have the same protections afforded to stockholders of companies that are subject to all of the NASDAQ Listing Rules regarding corporate governance.

We are an “emerging growth company,” and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies may make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act, and may remain an emerging growth company until the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of this offering subject to specified conditions. For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we are permitted, and intend, to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. These exemptions include not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, not being required to comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. In this prospectus, we have not included all of the executive compensation related information that would be required if we were not an emerging growth company. We cannot predict whether investors will find our common stock less attractive if we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

In addition, the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to avail ourselves of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, we will not be subject to new or revised accounting standards that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.

 

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Anti-takeover provisions in our restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, might discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company or changes in our management and, therefore, depress the trading price of our common stock.

Our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and Delaware law contain provisions that may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition, or other change in control that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which you might otherwise receive a premium for your shares of our common stock. These provisions may also prevent or frustrate attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our management. Our corporate governance documents include provisions:

 

  Ÿ  

authorizing blank check preferred stock, which could be issued without stockholder approval and with voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to our common stock;

 

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limiting the liability of, and providing indemnification to, our directors and officers;

 

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controlling the procedures for the conduct and scheduling of board of directors and stockholder meetings;

 

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providing our board of directors with the express power to postpone previously scheduled annual meetings and to cancel previously scheduled special meetings; and

 

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establishing Delaware as the exclusive jurisdiction for specified types of stockholder litigation involving us or our directors.

As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Delaware law, including Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prevents some stockholders holding more than 15% of our outstanding common stock from engaging in certain business combinations without approval of the holders of substantially all of our outstanding common stock. Since the investment funds and entities affiliated with Warburg Pincus and Goldman Sachs became holders of more than 15% of our outstanding common stock in a transaction that was approved by our Board of Directors, the restrictions of Section 302 of the Delaware General Corporation law would not apply to a business combination transaction with any investment funds or entities affiliated with Warburg Pincus or Goldman Sachs. Any provision of our restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.

The existence of the foregoing provisions and anti-takeover measures could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. They could also deter potential acquirers of our company, thereby reducing the likelihood that you could receive a premium for your common stock in an acquisition.

We will incur increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to compliance with our public company responsibilities and corporate governance practices. We will also need to ensure that we have adequate internal financial and accounting controls and procedures in place so that we can produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis. Failure to maintain proper and effective internal controls could impair our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements, which could harm our operating results, our ability to operate our business, and our investors’ view of us.

As a public company, and particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company.

 

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The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of The NASDAQ Global Market and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on public companies. Our management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to compliance with these requirements. Moreover, these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, we expect that these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, which could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors. We cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we will incur as a public company or the timing of such costs.

One aspect of complying with these rules and regulations as a public company is that we will be required to ensure that we have adequate financial and accounting controls and procedures in place. Our internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. This is a costly and time-consuming effort that needs to be re-evaluated periodically.

We have begun the process of documenting, reviewing and improving our internal controls and procedures for compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or Section 404, which will require that we evaluate, test and document our internal controls and, as a part of that evaluation, documentation and testing, identify areas for further attention and improvement. We have begun recruiting additional finance and accounting personnel, as well as outside consultants, and we will need to continue to dedicate internal resources, and potentially engage additional outside consultants, to adopt a detailed work plan to assess and document the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, continue steps to improve control processes as appropriate, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. Implementing any appropriate changes to our internal controls may distract our officers and employees, entail substantial costs to modify our existing processes and take significant time to complete. These changes may not, however, be effective in maintaining the adequacy of our internal controls. Thus, despite our efforts, there is a risk that we will not be able to conclude, within the prescribed timeframe or at all, that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404. Any failure to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, consequent inability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis, or identification of one or more material weaknesses could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements and make it more difficult for us to market and sell our solutions to new and existing subscribers.

In addition, pursuant to Section 404, we will be required to furnish an annual report by our management on their assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. The requirement that management attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting begins with our second filing of an Annual Report on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission after we become a public company, which we estimate to be the Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2014. However, unlike other public companies, while we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to include an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered accounting firm.

Certain of our stockholders have the right to engage or invest in the same or similar businesses as us.

Investment funds and entities affiliated with Warburg Pincus or Goldman Sachs, together, hold a controlling interest in our company. Warburg Pincus and Goldman Sachs have other investments and

 

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business activities in addition to its ownership of our company. Warburg Pincus and Goldman Sachs have the right, and have no duty to abstain from exercising the right, to engage or invest in the same or similar businesses as us. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we have, on behalf of ourselves, our subsidiaries and our and their respective stockholders, renounced any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, and business opportunity that may be presented to Warburg Pincus, Goldman Sachs or any of their respective partners, principals, directors, officers, members, managers, employees or other representatives, and no such person has any duty to communicate or offer such business opportunity to us or any of our subsidiaries or shall be liable to us or any of our subsidiaries or any of our or its stockholders for breach of any duty, as a director or officer or otherwise, by reason of the fact that such person pursues or acquires such business opportunity, directs such business opportunity to another person or fails to present such business opportunity, or information regarding such business opportunity, to us or our subsidiaries, unless, in the case of any such person who is a director or officer of ours, such business opportunity is expressly offered to such director or officer in writing solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of ours.

Because we do not expect to pay any dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future, investors in this offering may never receive a return on their investment.

You should not rely on an investment in our common stock to provide dividend income. We do not anticipate that we will pay any cash dividends to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. Instead, we plan to retain any earnings to maintain and expand our existing operations. In addition, our ability to pay cash dividends is currently limited by the terms of our credit agreements, and any future credit agreements may contain terms prohibiting or limiting the amount of dividends that may be declared or paid on our common stock. Accordingly, investors must rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any return on their investment. As a result, investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock.

Entities affiliated with Goldman Sachs, the lead underwriter in this offering, own in excess of 10% of our issued and outstanding common stock. Goldman Sachs is therefore deemed to be one of our “affiliates” and have a “conflict of interest” within the meaning of FINRA Rule 5121, which could expose us to risks associated with Goldman Sachs’ conflict of interest.

Goldman Sachs, together with certain of its affiliates, indirectly owns in excess of 10% of our issued and outstanding common stock, and is therefore deemed to be one of our “affiliates” and have a “conflict of interest” within the meaning of FINRA Rule 5121. Specifically, (i)              shares of our common stock are held directly by GS Capital Partners VI Fund, L.P.; (ii)              shares of our common stock are held directly by GS Capital Partners VI Offshore Fund, L.P.; (iii)              shares of our common stock are held directly by GS Capital Partners VI Parallel, L.P.; (iv)              shares of our common stock are held directly by GS Capital Partners VI GmbH & CO. KG; (v)              shares of our common stock are held directly by Bridge Street 2011, L.P.; (vi)              shares of our common stock are held directly by Bridge Street 2011 Offshore, L.P.; (vii)              shares of our common stock are held directly by MBD 2011, L.P.; and (viii)              shares of our common stock are held directly by MBD 2011 Offshore, L.P., all of which are affiliates of Goldman Sachs. In addition, we expect that more than 5% of the net proceeds of this offering may be received by certain other underwriters in this offering or their affiliates that are lenders under our credit facilities as the result of our use of a portion of our net proceeds to repay indebtedness under such credit facilities. Goldman Sachs is therefore deemed to be one of our “affiliates” and to have a “conflict of interest” within the meaning of FINRA Rule 5121. FINRA Rule 5121 requires that no sale be made to discretionary accounts by underwriters having a conflict of interest without the prior written approval of the account holder and that a “qualified independent underwriter,” as defined in the rule, has participated in the preparation of the registration statement and prospectus and exercised the usual standards of due diligence with respect thereto.

 

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Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5121, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC is serving as the “qualified independent underwriter,” as defined by FINRA. Although Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC has, in its capacity as qualified independent underwriter, performed due diligence investigations and reviewed and participated in the preparation of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we cannot assure you that this will adequately address any potential conflicts of interest. See “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest).” In addition, we have agreed to indemnify Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC for acting as qualified independent underwriter against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments that Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC may be required to make for those liabilities.

 

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this prospectus, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.

In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. The forward-looking statements in this prospectus are only predictions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions described in the “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in this prospectus. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Some of the key factors that could cause actual results to differ from our expectations include:

 

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the rate of growth of the SMB market for our solutions;

 

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our inability to maintain a high level of subscriber satisfaction;

 

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our inability to continue to add new subscribers and increase sales to our existing subscribers;

 

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system or Internet failures;

 

  Ÿ  

our dependence on establishing and maintaining strong brands;

 

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our inability to maintain or improve our competitive position or market share;

 

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the loss of strategic relationships or alliances with third parties;

 

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our inability to integrate recent or potential future acquisitions;

 

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the business risks of international operations;

 

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the loss or unavailability of any of our co-located data centers;

 

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our recognition of revenue for subscription-based services over the term of the applicable subscriber agreement;

 

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the occurrence of security or privacy breaches; and

 

  Ÿ  

adverse consequences of our substantial level of indebtedness.

Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein until after we distribute this prospectus, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise.

 

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INDUSTRY AND OTHER DATA

Unless otherwise indicated, information contained in this prospectus concerning our industry and the markets in which we operate, including our general expectations and market position, is based on information from independent industry analysts and third-party sources and management estimates. Management estimates are derived from publicly available information released by independent industry analysts and third-party sources, as well as data from our internal research, and are based on assumptions, which we believe to be reasonable, made by us based on such data, as well as our knowledge of our industry, subscribers and products. Projections, assumptions and estimates of our future performance and the future performance of the industries in which we operate are necessarily subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of factors, including those described in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the estimates made by the independent parties and by us.

This prospectus presents market and industry data from Access Markets International (AMI) Partners Inc., June 20, 2013 and August 2, 2013, and Parallels IP Holdings GmbH, “Parallels Global SMB Cloud Insights,” February 5, 2013. This data is published as part of syndicated subscription services by the respective publishers of these reports. These reports are based on the research, analysis and viewpoints of the respective publishers thereof and speak as of their respective original publication dates (and not as of the date of this prospectus).

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that the net proceeds to us from the sale of our common stock in this offering will be approximately $         million, assuming an initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock by the selling stockholders. If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, we estimate that our net proceeds will be approximately $         million.

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share would increase (decrease) our net proceeds from this offering by approximately $         million, assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, we estimate that our net proceeds will be approximately $         million.

We intend to use a portion of our net proceeds of this offering to repay $         million of indebtedness under our              loan facility. The              matures on                    , and as of June 30, 2013, the interest rate on the              was     %. This indebtedness was incurred on              for the purpose of             . See “Description of Indebtedness.” Affiliates of certain of the underwriters are lenders under our credit facilities and, accordingly, will receive a portion of the net proceeds of this offering. See “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest).”

Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of specified customary closing conditions, we intend to use a portion of our net proceeds of this offering to satisfy all or a portion of our payment obligations at the closing of our proposed acquisition of Directi. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Directi Acquisition.”

We intend to use the balance of our net proceeds of this offering, if any, for working capital and other general corporate purposes. In addition, we believe that opportunities may exist from time to time to expand our current business through acquisitions of or investments in complementary products, technologies or businesses, and we may use a portion of our net proceeds for these purposes. We have no current agreements, commitments or understandings for any material specific acquisitions at this time, other than the Directi transactions described in this prospectus.

Pending use of the proceeds as described above, we intend to invest the proceeds in short-term, interest-bearing, investment-grade securities.

 

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DIVIDEND POLICY

We intend to retain future earnings, if any, to finance the operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination to declare dividends will be subject to the discretion of our board of directors and applicable law and will depend on various factors, including our results of operations, financial condition, prospects and any other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. Our credit agreements limit our ability to pay cash dividends on our common stock, and the terms of any future loan agreement into which we may enter or any additional debt securities we may issue are likely to contain similar restrictions on the payment of dividends. See “Description of Indebtedness—Covenant Restrictions and Compliance.”

On April 20, 2012, we paid a $6.0 million accrued dividend in connection with the redemption of preferred shares of a subsidiary. On November 9, 2012, we paid a dividend in the aggregate amount of $300.0 million, including $194.3 million and $62.6 million paid to investment funds and entities affiliated with Warburg Pincus and Goldman Sachs, respectively.

We do not currently intend to declare or pay any similar special dividends in the foreseeable future.

 

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and capitalization as of June 30, 2013, as follows:

 

  Ÿ  

on an actual basis;

 

  Ÿ  

on a pro forma basis to give effect to the completion of our corporate reorganization concurrently with, or prior to, the completion of this offering (see “Corporation Reorganization”); and

 

  Ÿ  

on a pro forma as adjusted basis to give effect to (1) our issuance and sale of              shares of common stock in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us and (2) our use of a portion of the proceeds of this offering to repay $         million of our indebtedness outstanding under our             loan facility and to satisfy all or a portion of our payment obligations at the closing of our proposed acquisition of Directi.

You should read this information in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing at the end of this prospectus and the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” section and other financial information contained in this prospectus.

 

    As of June 30, 2013  
    Actual     Pro Forma     Pro Forma
As Adjusted
 
    (unaudited)  
(in thousands, except share and per share data)                  

Cash and cash equivalents

  $ 16,984      $        $     

Current and long-term debt

    1,134,000       

Stockholders’ (deficit) equity:

     

Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001, no shares authorized, issued or outstanding, actual; shares authorized,              shares issued and outstanding, pro forma and pro forma as adjusted

                    

Common Stock, par value $0.0001, 1,000 shares authorized, issued and outstanding, actual;              shares authorized,              shares issued and outstanding, pro forma;              shares authorized,              shares issued and outstanding, pro forma as adjusted

     

Additional paid-in capital

    510,464       

Accumulated deficit

    (504,256    
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity

    6,208       
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total cash and cash equivalents and capitalization

  $ 1,157,192      $                   $                
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) the pro forma as adjusted amount of each of cash and cash equivalents, total stockholders’ equity and total cash and cash equivalents and capitalization by approximately $        , assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

The table above is illustrative only and does not include up to              shares of our common stock issuable in connection with our proposed acquisition of Directi based on an assumed initial public offering price of $             per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and              shares of common stock available for future issuance under our equity compensation plans as of                     , 2013.

 

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DILUTION

If you invest in our common stock in this offering, your ownership interest will be immediately diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our common stock after this offering. Our net tangible book value as of June 30, 2013 was negative $1,367.2 million or $         per share of our common stock. Net tangible book value per share represents our total tangible assets reduced by the amount of our total liabilities, divided by the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding.

After giving effect to our corporate reorganization and the sale of              shares of common stock that we are offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our pro forma net tangible book value as of June 30, 2013 would have been approximately $         million, or approximately $         per share. This amount represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $         per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of approximately $         per share to new investors purchasing shares of common stock in this offering. We determine dilution by subtracting the pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering from the amount of cash that a new investor paid for a share of common stock. The following table illustrates this dilution:

 

Assumed initial public offering price per share

      $                

Net tangible book value per share as of June 30, 2013

   $                   

Increase per share attributable to this offering

     
  

 

 

    

Pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering

      $     
     

 

 

 

Dilution per share to new investors

      $     
     

 

 

 

A $1.00 increase (decrease) in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase (decrease) the pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering by approximately $        , and dilution in net tangible book value per share to new investors by approximately $        , assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares of our common stock in full in this offering, the pro forma net tangible book value after the offering would be $         per share, the increase in net tangible book value per share to existing stockholders would be $         and the dilution per share to new investors would be $         per share, in each case assuming an initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.

 

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The following table summarizes, as of June 30, 2013, the differences between the number of shares purchased from us, the total consideration paid to us in cash and the average price per share that existing stockholders and new investors paid. The calculation below is based on an assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, before deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

     Shares Purchased     Total Consideration     Average
Price
Per Share
 
     Number    Percent     Amount      Percent    

Existing stockholders

               $                             $                

New investors

            
  

 

  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

Total

        100        100  
  

 

  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

Sales of shares of common stock by the selling stockholders in this offering will reduce the number of shares of common stock held by existing stockholders to             , or approximately     % of the total shares of common stock outstanding after this offering, and will increase the number of shares held by new investors to             , or approximately     % of the total shares of common stock outstanding after this.

After giving effect to the sale of shares in this offering by us and the selling stockholders, if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares to cover over-allotments is exercised in full, our existing stockholders would own     % and our new investors would own     % of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding after our initial public offering.

The foregoing tables and calculations are based on the number of shares of our common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2013, and excludes              shares of common stock available for future issuance under our equity compensation plans as of June 30, 2013 and up to             shares of common stock issuable in connection with our proposed acquisition of Directi based on an assumed initial public offering price of $        per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.

If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full:

 

  Ÿ  

the percentage of shares of common stock held by existing stockholders will decrease to approximately     % of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding after this offering; and

 

  Ÿ  

the number of shares held by new investors will increase to             , or approximately     % of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding after this offering.

We may choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that additional capital is raised through the sale of equity or securities convertible into equity, the issuance of these securities may result in further dilution to our stockholders.

 

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SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

The consolidated statements of operations data for the year ended December 31, 2010, the period from January 1, 2011 through December 21, 2011, the period from December 22, 2011 through December 31, 2011 and the year ended December 31, 2012, and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2011 and 2012, are derived from our audited consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Impact of Sponsor Acquisition.” The consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2010 was derived from our audited consolidated financial statements that are not included in this prospectus. The consolidated statements of operations data for the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of June 30, 2013 are derived from our unaudited consolidated financial statements included in this prospectus. The unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a basis consistent with our audited consolidated financial statements and, in the opinion of management, include all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for the fair presentation of the financial information set forth in those statements. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected in any future period and the results for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected in the full year. You should read the following selected consolidated financial data in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. All data in the following table is in thousands, except share and per share data.

 

    Predecessor(1)          Successor(1)  
  Year Ended
December 31,
2010
    Period from
January 1
through
December 21,
2011
         Period from
December 22
through
December 31,
2011
    Year Ended
December 31,
2012
    Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
            2012     2013  
                               (unaudited)  

Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:

               

Revenue

  $ 87,781      $ 187,340          $ 2,967      $ 292,156      $ 91,768      $ 250,963   

Cost of revenue(2)

    74,993        133,399            3,901        237,179        80,568        175,180   
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross profit

    12,788        53,941            (934     54,977        11,200        75,783   

Operating expense:

               

Sales and marketing

    33,412        54,932            1,482        83,110        36,558        58,299   

Engineering and development

    2,746        5,538            101        13,803        3,998        12,235   

General and administrative

    7,136        16,938            3,755        48,411        12,248        28,363   
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expense(3)

    43,294        77,408            5,338        145,324        52,804        98,897   

Loss from operations

    (30,506     (23,467         (6,272     (90,347     (41,604     (23,114

Net interest income (expense)

    (13,814     (50,291         (855     (126,131     (18,840     (43,509
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

    (44,320     (73,758         (7,127     (216,478     (60,444     (66,623

Income tax expense (benefit)

    26        126            (2,746     (77,203     (21,428     (1,671

Equity loss (income) of unconsolidated entities, net of tax

                             23               (266
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

  $ (44,346   $ (73,884       $ (4,381   $ (139,298   $ (39,016   $ (64,686
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:

               

Basic

  $        $            $        $        $        $     
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

  $        $            $        $        $        $     
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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    Predecessor(1)        Successor(1)  
  Year Ended
December 31,
2010
  Period from
January 1
through
December 21,
2011
       Period from
December 22
through
December 31,
2011
  Year Ended
December 31,
2012
    Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
            2012   2013  
                         (unaudited)  

Weighted average shares used to compute net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:

               

Basic

               
 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

Diluted

               
 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

Pro forma net loss per share attributable to common stockholders (unaudited):(4)

               

Basic

            $          $     
           

 

 

     

 

 

 

Diluted

            $          $     
           

 

 

     

 

 

 

Pro forma weighted average shares used to compute pro forma net loss per share (unaudited):(5)

               

Basic

               
           

 

 

     

 

 

 

Diluted

               
           

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

(1) Our company is referred to as the “predecessor” for all periods prior to the Sponsor Acquisition and is referred to as the “successor” for all periods after the Sponsor Acquisition.
(2) Includes stock-based compensation expense of $26,000 for the year ended December 31, 2012, and $9,000 and $11,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013. We recorded no stock-based compensation expense to cost of revenue in 2010 or 2011.
(3) Includes stock-based compensation expense of $1.0 million and $2.3 million for the predecessor period of 2011 and the year ended December 31, 2012, respectively, and $1.0 million and $0.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013. We recorded no stock-based compensation expense to operating expense in 2010.
(4) Pro forma net loss per share has been adjusted to reflect $         of lower interest expense related to the repayment of $         million of indebtedness under our             , using a portion of the proceeds of this offering as if such indebtedness had been repaid as of the beginning of the period.
(5) Pro forma weighted-average              shares includes shares of common stock to be issued in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. The issuance of such shares is assumed to have occurred as of the beginning of the period.

 

     Predecessor           Successor  
     As of
December 31,
2010
          As of
December 31,
2011
    As of
December 31,
2012
    As of
June 30,
2013
 
                             (unaudited)  

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

             

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 10,310           $ 16,953      $ 23,245      $ 16,984   

Property and equipment, net

     4,820             12,216        34,604        43,954   

Working capital

     (82,552          (70,763     (203,853     (261,390

Total assets

     378,166             1,166,213        1,538,136        1,515,082   

Current and long-term debt

     201,840             350,000        1,130,000        1,134,000   

Redeemable convertible preferred stock

     24,535             149,604                 

Total stockholders’ equity

     52,353             652,540        70,155        6,208   

 

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    Predecessor          Successor  
  Year Ended
December 31,
2010
    Period from
January 1,
2011 through
December 21,
2011
         Period from
December 22,
2011 through
December 31,
2011
    Year Ended
December 31,
2012
    Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
            2012     2013  

Financial and Other Metrics:

               

Total subscribers(1)

    2,482        2,845            2,857        3,223        3,059        3,370   

Average revenue per subscriber(2)

  $ 12.36      $ 12.84          $ 12.84      $ 12.92      $ 12.78      $ 12.96   

Monthly recurring revenue retention rate(3)

    99     99         99     99     99     99

Adjusted net income(4)

  $ 9,068      $ 60,041          $ 1,813      $ 27,695      $ 25,488      $ 58,045   

Adjusted EBITDA(5)

  $ 25,066      $ 90,032          $ 3,853      $ 132,765      $ 63,360      $ 110,682   

Unlevered free cash flow(6)

  $ 26,445      $ 73,264          $ 3,419      $ 101,193      $ 45,130      $ 85,883   

 

(1) We define total subscribers as those that, as of the end of a period, are subscribing directly to our solutions on a paid basis. In calculating total subscribers, we include the number of end-of-period subscribers we added through business acquisitions as if those subscribers had subscribed with us since the beginning of the period presented. We do not include in total subscribers parties that access our solutions via resellers or purchase only domain names from us. Subscribers of more than one brand are counted as separate subscribers.
(2) Average revenue per subscriber, or ARPS, is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate monthly as the amount of revenue we recognize from subscribers in a month divided by the average of the number of total subscribers at the beginning of the month and at the end of the month. For any period presented, ARPS is calculated as the average of ARPS for each month in that period. In calculating ARPS, we exclude the impact of any fair value adjustments to deferred revenue resulting from acquisitions. We also adjust the amount of revenue to include the revenue generated from subscribers we added through business acquisitions as if those acquired subscribers had been our subscribers since the beginning of the period presented. For more information regarding ARPS and a reconciliation of ARPS to average revenue per subscriber calculated on a GAAP basis, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
(3) We calculate our monthly recurring revenue, or MRR, retention rate at the end of a period by taking the retained recurring value of subscription revenue of all active subscribers at the end of the prior period and dividing it into the retained recurring value of subscription revenue for those same subscribers at the end of the reported period.
(4) Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as net income (loss) plus changes in deferred revenue inclusive of purchase accounting adjustments related to acquisitions, stock-based compensation expense, severance, expenses related to restructurings or integration of acquisitions, any dividend-related payments accounted for as compensation expense, costs associated with litigation matters and preparation for this offering and the estimated tax effects of the foregoing adjustments. For more information regarding adjusted net income and a reconciliation of adjusted net income to net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
(5) Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as adjusted net income plus interest expense, depreciation, amortization and change in deferred taxes. For more information regarding adjusted EBITDA and a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
(6) Unlevered free cash flow, or UFCF, is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as adjusted EBITDA plus change in operating assets and liabilities (other than deferred revenue) net of acquisitions less capital expenditures. For more information regarding UFCF and a reconciliation of UFCF to net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

 

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NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

In addition to our financial information presented in accordance with GAAP, we use certain “non-GAAP financial measures” to clarify and enhance our understanding of past performance and future prospects. Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company’s operating performance, financial position or cash flow that includes or excludes amounts that are included or excluded from the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. We monitor the non-GAAP financial measures described below, and we believe they are helpful to investors, because we believe they reflect the operating performance of our business and help management and investors gauge our ability to generate cash flow, excluding some recurring and non-recurring expenses that are included in the most directly comparable measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.

Our non-GAAP financial measures may not provide information that is directly comparable to that provided by other companies in our industry, as other companies in our industry may calculate non-GAAP financial results differently, particularly related to adjustments for integration and restructuring expenses. In addition, there are limitations in using non-GAAP financial measures because they are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies and exclude expenses that may have a material impact on our reported financial results. Further, interest expense, which is excluded from some of our non-GAAP measures, has been and will continue to be for the foreseeable future a significant recurring expense in our business. The presentation of non-GAAP financial information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the directly comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. We urge you to review the reconciliations of our non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures included below, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business.

Average Revenue per Subscriber

Average revenue per subscriber, or ARPS, is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate monthly as the amount of revenue we recognize from subscribers in a month divided by the average of the number of total subscribers at the beginning of the month and at the end of the month. For any period presented, ARPS is calculated as the average of ARPS for each month in that period. In calculating ARPS, we exclude the impact of any fair value adjustments to deferred revenue resulting from acquisitions. We also adjust the amount of revenue to include the revenue generated from subscribers we added through business acquisitions as if those acquired subscribers had been our subscribers since the beginning of the period presented. We believe including revenue from acquired subscribers in this manner provides a useful comparison of the average revenue generated per subscriber from period to period. We believe ARPS is an indicator of our ability to optimize our product and service mix and pricing, and to sell products and services to new and existing subscribers.

The following table reflects the reconciliation of ARPS to revenue calculated in accordance with GAAP (all data in thousands, except ARPS data):

 

    Predecessor          Successor  
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
    Period from
January 1,
2011 through
December 21,
2011
         Period from
December 22,
2011 through
December 31,
2011
    Year Ended
December 31,
2012
    Six Months
Ended
June 30,
 
            2012     2013  

Revenue

  $ 87,781      $ 187,340          $ 2,967      $ 292,156      $ 91,768      $ 250,963   

Purchase accounting adjustment

    19,042        24,718            2,710        64,123        33,616        5,475   

Pre-acquisition revenue from acquired properties

    232,333        194,100            3,073        117,836        103,306        512   
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted revenue

  $ 339,156      $ 406,158          $ 8,750      $ 474,115      $ 228,690      $ 256,950   

Total subscribers

    2,482        2,845            2,857        3,223        3,059        3,370   

ARPS

  $ 12.36      $ 12.84          $ 12.84      $ 12.92      $ 12.78      $ 12.96   

 

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Adjusted Net Income

Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as net income (loss) plus changes in deferred revenue inclusive of purchase accounting adjustments related to acquisitions, stock-based compensation expense, severance, expenses related to restructurings or integration of acquisitions, any dividend-related payments accounted for as compensation expense, costs associated with litigation matters and preparation for this offering and the estimated tax effects of the foregoing adjustments. Due to our history of acquisitions and financings, we have incurred accounting charges and expenses that obscure the operating performance of our business. We believe that adjusting for these items and the use of adjusted net income is useful to investors in evaluating the performance of our company.

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as net income (loss) plus changes in deferred revenue inclusive of purchase accounting adjustments related to acquisitions, stock-based compensation expense, severance, expenses related to restructurings or integration of acquisitions, any dividend-related payments accounted for as compensation expense, costs associated with litigation matters and preparation for this offering, interest expense, depreciation, amortization and change in deferred taxes. We manage our business based on the cash collected from our subscribers and the cash required to acquire and service those subscribers. We believe highlighting cash collected and cash spent in a given period is valuable insight for an investor to gauge the overall health of our business. Under GAAP, although subscription fees are paid in advance, we recognize the associated revenue over the subscription term, which does not fully reflect short-term trends in our operating results.

Unlevered Free Cash Flow

Unlevered free cash flow, or UFCF, is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as net income (loss) plus changes in deferred revenue inclusive of purchase accounting adjustments related to acquisitions, stock-based compensation expense, severance, expenses related to restructurings or integration of acquisitions, any dividend-related payments accounted for as compensation expense, costs associated with litigation matters and preparation for this offering, interest expense, depreciation, amortization, change in deferred taxes and change in operating assets and liabilities (other than deferred revenue) net of acquisitions less capital expenditures. We believe the most useful indicator of our operating performance is the cash generating potential of our company prior to the impact of our capital structure and prior to any accounting charges related to our acquisitions. As a result of the Sponsor Acquisition, we have substantial indebtedness and have made substantial dividend payments. We also believe that because our business has meaningful data center and related infrastructure requirements, the level of capital expenditures required to run our business are an important factor for investors. We believe UFCF is a useful measure that captures the effects of these issues.

 

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The following table reflects the reconciliation of adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA and unlevered free cash flow to net loss calculated in accordance with GAAP (all data in thousands).

 

    Predecessor          Successor  
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
    Period from
January 1,
2011 through
December 21,
2011
         Period from
December 22,
2011 through
December 31,
2011
    Year Ended
December 31,
2012
    Six Months
Ended
June 30,
 
              2012     2013  

Net loss

  $ (44,346   $ (73,884       $ (4,381   $ (139,298   $ (39,016   $ (64,686

Stock-based compensation

           1,000                   2,308        1,029        739   

Dividend-related payments

                             9,765                 

Amortization of long-lived assets related to acquisitions

    29,567        50,443            1,735        88,118        31,573        52,314   

Amortization of deferred financing costs

    921        23,781            97        43,405        2,074        106   

Changes in deferred revenue (inclusive of impact of purchase accounting)

    22,926        52,503            4,662        104,069        67,438        33,651   

Loan prepayment penalty

                             10,883                 

Transaction expenses

           6,198            3,624        11,869        2,213        4,864   

Integration and restructuring expenses

                                      31,280   

Severance

                             294        87          

Legal and professional expenses

                             250        250        3,495   

Tax-affected impact of adjustments

                      (3,924     (103,968     (40,160     (3,718
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted net income

  $ 9,068      $ 60,041          $ 1,813      $ 27,695      $ 25,488      $ 58,045   
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Depreciation

    3,105        3,481            114        6,869        2,375        8,267   

Current and deferred tax benefit

                      1,169        26,358        18,731        968   

Interest expense, net (net of impact of amortization of deferred financing costs)

    12,893        26,510            757        71,843        16,766        43,402   
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

  $ 25,066      $ 90,032          $ 3,853      $ 132,765      $ 63,360      $ 110,682   
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Change in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions

    2,910        (10,130         (427     (3,409     (11,815     (6,852

Capital expenditures

    (1,531     (6,638         (7     (28,163     (6,415     (17,947
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Unlevered free cash flow

  $ 26,445      $ 73,264          $ 3,419      $ 101,193      $ 45,130      $ 85,883   
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

You should read the following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this prospectus. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those discussed below and elsewhere in this prospectus, particularly in the section titled “Risk Factors.” In this discussion, we use financial measures that are considered non-GAAP financial measures under Securities and Exchange Commission rules. These rules require supplemental explanation and reconciliation, which is included elsewhere in this prospectus. Investors should not consider non-GAAP financial measures in isolation from or in substitution for, financial information presented in compliance with GAAP. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Overview

Our mission is to deliver technology solutions that help small- and medium-sized business, or SMBs, transform the way they do business. We are a leading provider of cloud-based solutions designed to help SMBs establish, manage and grow their businesses. We serve approximately 3.4 million subscribers globally with a comprehensive and integrated suite of over 150 products and services that includes initial website design and creation, email and commerce solutions as well as more advanced offerings such as scalable and on-demand computing, security, storage and bandwidth, online marketing, mobile and productivity solutions. Our 16-year history of commitment to SMBs has enabled us to amass significant insight into the needs and aspirations of our subscribers, and we have developed a deep understanding of the challenges of serving SMBs at scale.

We generate revenue by charging our subscribers for the products and services that they buy from us. A significant majority of our revenue is generated on a subscription basis, and our subscribers typically pay for our solutions in advance through our direct billing relationships.

We were founded in 1997 and initially offered shared web hosting services on a free, advertising-based model. In 2001, we adjusted our business model to provide paid, subscription-based web presence solutions to SMBs, including web hosting and domain name registration services. In addition to our organic growth initiatives, we have acquired companies and assets to enhance our core competencies, add to our portfolio of brands and products and services and expand our international reach. In 2007, we acquired iPower and began introducing additional solutions, such as virtual private server hosting, as well as e-commerce, website analytics, website building, search engine optimization, security and email marketing tools. In 2010, we acquired Bluehost and became an accredited domain name registrar. In 2012, we acquired HostGator and Homestead, and we began to offer dedicated server hosting, enhanced our product portfolio and expanded our international reach to Brazil and India. In December 2011, investment funds and entities affiliated with Warburg Pincus and Goldman Sachs acquired a controlling interest in our company. In August 2013, we agreed to acquire Directi, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of specified customary closing conditions. See “—Directi Acquisition.”

Our revenue for 2010, 2011 and 2012 was $87.8 million, $190.3 million and $292.2 million, respectively, and our revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013 was $91.8 million and $251.0 million, respectively. Our organic revenue grew from $339.2 million in 2010 to $414.9 million in 2011 and to $474.1 million in 2012, representing a compounded annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 18%. During this period, our subscriber base grew from 2.5 million to 3.2 million subscribers, accounting for approximately 75% of our revenue growth, with the remaining revenue growth attributable to increases in

 

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average revenue per subscriber. Our organic revenue increased 12% from $228.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 to $257.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013. During this period, our subscriber base increased from 3.1 million to 3.4 million, to which approximately 80% of our revenue growth was attributable, with the remainder due to increases in average revenue per subscriber. We calculate our organic revenue by adding back the revenue from our acquisitions completed in 2010, 2011, 2012 and the six months ended June 30, 2013, as though we had owned those businesses since the beginning of the period presented. We expect increases in subscribers will be a significant factor affecting our future growth as we continue to expand our subscriber base and broaden our platform.

We had net losses of $44.3 million, $73.9 million, $4.4 million and $139.3 million in 2010, predecessor 2011, successor 2011 and 2012, respectively, and $39.0 million and $64.7 million in the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013, respectively.

Our adjusted EBITDA during 2010, 2011 and 2012 was $25.1 million, $93.9 million and $132.8 million, respectively, and adjusted EBITDA during the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013 was $63.4 million and $110.7 million, respectively. Between 2010 and 2012, adjusted EBITDA grew at a CAGR of 130%, as we increased the size of our business through organic growth and through acquisitions, and as we achieved scale benefits by realizing synergies from our acquisitions. We also expect adjusted EBITDA to grow consistent with, to moderately above, revenue growth in future periods as we continue to invest in expanding our base of subscribers, products and services while achieving greater scale benefits.

Our unlevered free cash flow, or UFCF, during 2010, 2011 and 2012 was $26.4 million, $76.7 million and $101.2 million, respectively. Between 2010 and 2012, UFCF grew at a CAGR of 96%. Our UFCF during the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013 was $45.1 million and $85.9 million, respectively. Changes to our UFCF are driven by changes in our adjusted EBITDA, working capital and capital expenditures. We plan to continue to invest in our network infrastructure, technology platforms and facilities to improve our solutions-based sales approach and our ability to offer compelling products and services to our subscribers. Consequently, we expect our capital expenditures to continue to increase in absolute dollars but to decrease as a percentage of revenues, and our UFCF to increase consistent with increases in adjusted EBITDA in future periods.

Adjusted EBITDA and UFCF are non-GAAP financial measures. For more information regarding adjusted EBITDA and UFCF and a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA and UFCF to net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Factors Affecting our Performance

We believe that our performance and future success depend on a number of factors that present significant opportunities for us but also pose significant risks and challenges, including those discussed below and in “Risk Factors.”

 

  Ÿ  

Our ability to retain and expand our subscriber base.    Our business success depends on our ability to retain existing and attract new subscribers. We have successfully created a multi-channel, multi-brand approach to attract subscribers to our solutions. Our subscriber acquisition channels include resellers and partners. We also benefit from a substantial number of referrals from our existing subscribers. We have created multiple brands to target different types of SMBs that are attracted to specific attributes or solutions. We plan to continue to invest in these channels and brands to acquire and retain subscribers cost-effectively. However, we have limited control over subscriber acquisition costs as they are largely market determined. Depending on the level of competition for subscribers, our marketing costs could change materially. Furthermore, because we rely in part on referrals from existing subscribers,

 

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our ability to provide consistent, predictable and effective products and services in a manner acceptable to our subscribers is important to ensuring our subscribers are satisfied with our solutions and willing to recommend us to others who may be seeking similar solutions. Any set of circumstances that harms subscriber satisfaction could increase our marketing costs or adversely affect our ability to onboard new subscribers.

 

  Ÿ  

Our ability to enhance and expand our product and service offerings.    Our ability to consistently innovate and bring to market new products and services that create compelling solutions for our subscribers is critical to our success. We plan to continue to introduce value-added products and services that address our subscribers’ needs. Our model allows us to rapidly deploy new products and services that further strengthen our offerings and improve our subscribers’ experience. As we continue to expand our solutions, we expect that our subscribers will be more likely to purchase additional products and services from us. We must ensure availability of relevant and in-demand products and services and either develop these products and services in-house or obtain them from third parties. We must also continue to invest in our network infrastructure in order to effectively and reliably deploy increasingly large numbers of products and services.

 

  Ÿ  

Our ability to manage and invest in our infrastructure.    We rely on our integrated technology platform to collect and analyze data, create compelling solutions and deliver these solutions in a seamless and cost-effective manner. We invest capital in purchasing data center equipment and in acquiring third-party software solutions, in addition to developing our own software solutions, to manage our infrastructure efficiently and analyze the data we collect. We do not own our data centers and instead co-locate equipment to reduce our cost to serve our subscribers. We plan to continue to manage the costs associated with serving our subscribers efficiently through our co-location model while providing subscribers with leading service levels consistent with our current practices. However, because we rely on third parties for data center services, we enter into periodic service contracts with data center providers. As a result, our data center costs and service levels are affected by market demand for data center services, which may affect the pricing and service levels we can offer our subscribers.

 

  Ÿ  

Our ability to derive value from potential future acquisitions.    From time to time, we have acquired businesses that have complemented or provided additional avenues to expand our then-existing business. In the future, we may pursue additional acquisitions that complement our existing business, represent a strategic fit and are consistent with our overall growth strategy. Most recently, in August 2013, we agreed to acquire Directi, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of specified customary closing conditions, and we may target additional acquisitions in the future that help us access new international markets, enhance our data analytics and technology platform or add functionality and capabilities to our suite of products and services. Our future success depends in part on our ability to derive value from acquisitions, including the successful on-boarding of subscribers from acquired businesses.

 

  Ÿ  

Our ability to manage growth in our business.    Our business and operations have experienced rapid growth and organizational change in recent periods, which has placed, and will continue to place, significant demands on our management and infrastructure. We expect to continue to grow. Our future success depends in part on our ability to manage our anticipated growth and organizational change in a manner that preserves the key aspects of our corporate culture and the quality of our solutions while keeping up with changes in the industry and technological developments.

 

  Ÿ  

Our ability to keep up with rapid and ongoing technological change to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving industry.    The cloud-based technology industry is characterized by rapid and ongoing technological change, frequent new product and service introductions and evolving industry standards. As a provider of cloud-based solutions to SMBs, our future success depends on our ability to adapt quickly to rapidly changing technologies, to

 

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change our solutions to evolving industry standards and to improve the performance and reliability of our products and services. To ensure our continued success, we need to continue to evolve our business to meet the changing needs of our subscribers and maintain our company culture of subscriber-centric innovation and rapid technology deployment. We plan to continue to foster strategic relationships, expand our ecosystem of partners and bring to market new ways in which subscribers can easily access our products and solutions across a range of devices. This plan will require us to continue to invest in our engineering and development efforts and expand our network infrastructure to enable delivery of these new products and services to our subscribers.

 

  Ÿ  

Our ability to foster strategic relationships and alliances with third parties.    To expand our business by adding subscribers, we plan to continue to rely on third party relationships and alliances, in addition to our own sales and marketing approaches. Third parties also provide a majority of the products and services we offer our subscribers and are an important factor in our ability to provide relevant, compelling and timely solutions to our subscribers. While we have several strategic relationships and alliances in place and continue to work with partners around the world to expand the number of products and services we offer our subscribers, many of our partnerships are on a non-exclusive basis and in some instances are subject to renewal.

 

  Ÿ  

Our ability to access capital markets to fund our growth.    We currently have, and expect to continue to have, substantial indebtedness. Over the past several years, we have relied on the debt markets for capital to fund our growth. By becoming a public company, we will also be able to access the public capital markets. In addition to our internally generated cash flows, access to these markets provides us with the necessary liquidity to expand our international presence, add more products and services and increase our customer acquisition channels. Limited access to capital markets would adversely affect our growth prospects.

 

  Ÿ  

Our ability to retain, hire, train and manage our key employees.    Our ability to successfully pursue our growth strategy will depend on our ability to attract, retain and motivate key employees across our business. In particular, we are dependent on our platform engineers and those who manage our customer sales and service employees. We face intense competition for these and other employees from numerous technology, software and manufacturing companies.

Key Metrics

We use a number of metrics, including the following key metrics, to evaluate the operating and financial performance of our business, identify trends affecting our business, develop projections and make strategic business decisions:

 

  Ÿ  

total subscribers;

 

  Ÿ  

average revenue per subscriber;

 

  Ÿ  

monthly recurring revenue retention rate;

 

  Ÿ  

adjusted net income;

 

  Ÿ  

adjusted EBITDA; and

 

  Ÿ  

unlevered free cash flow.

 

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The following table summarizes these metrics for the periods presented (all data in thousands, except average revenue per subscriber and monthly recurring revenue retention rate):

 

    Predecessor          Successor  
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
    Period from
January 1,
2011 through
December 21,
2011
         Period from
December 22,
2011 through
December 31,
2011
    Year Ended
December 31,
2012
    Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
              2012     2013  

Financial and other metrics:

               

Total subscribers

    2,482        2,845            2,857        3,223        3,059        3,370   

Average revenue per subscriber

  $ 12.36      $ 12.84          $ 12.84      $ 12.92      $ 12.78      $ 12.96   

Monthly recurring revenue retention rate

    99     99         99     99     99     99

Adjusted net income

  $ 9,068      $ 60,041          $ 1,813      $ 27,695      $ 25,488      $ 58,045   

Adjusted EBITDA

  $ 25,066      $ 90,032          $ 3,853      $ 132,765      $ 63,360      $ 110,682   

Unlevered free cash flow

  $ 26,445      $ 73,264          $ 3,419      $ 101,193      $ 45,130      $ 85,883   

Total Subscribers

We define total subscribers as those that, as of the end of a period, are subscribing directly to our solutions on a paid basis. In calculating total subscribers, we include the number of end-of-period subscribers we added through business acquisitions as if those subscribers had subscribed with us since the beginning of the period presented. We believe including acquired subscribers in this manner provides a useful measure of the number of subscribers we added during a period. We do not include in total subscribers parties that access our solutions via resellers or purchase only domain names from us. Subscribers of more than one brand are counted as separate subscribers. We believe total subscribers is an indicator of the scale of our platform and our ability to expand our subscriber base, and is a critical factor in our ability to monetize the opportunity we have identified in serving the SMB market. As of December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, we had 2.5 million, 2.9 million and 3.2 million total subscribers, respectively. We believe we added subscribers over these periods by refining our customer acquisition approach, expanding our portfolio of brands and offering compelling products and services. Total subscribers increased from 3.1 million as of June 30, 2012 to 3.4 million as of June 30, 2013, primarily as a result of expanding our sales and our support organizations and training them to better utilize our data and analytical capabilities.

Average Revenue per Subscriber

Average revenue per subscriber, or ARPS, is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as the amount of revenue we recognize from subscribers in a period divided by the average of the number of total subscribers at the beginning of the period and at the end of the period. In calculating ARPS, we exclude the impact of any fair value adjustments to deferred revenue resulting from acquisitions. We adjust the amount of revenue to include the revenue generated from subscribers we added through business acquisitions as if those acquired subscribers had been our subscribers since the beginning of the period presented. We believe including revenue from acquired subscribers in this manner provides a useful comparison of the average revenue generated per subscriber from period to period. We believe ARPS is an indicator of our ability to optimize our mix of products and services and pricing, and sell products and services to new and existing subscribers. ARPS increased from $12.36 during 2010 to $12.84 during 2011, as demand for our solutions from both new and existing subscribers increased, and increased to $12.92 during 2012 as we on-boarded subscribers from our acquisitions of HostGator and Homestead. For the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013, ARPS increased from $12.78 to $12.96 as we on-boarded HostGator and Homestead subscribers to our integrated technology platform. We expect ARPS to increase in 2013 and beyond as we sell more products and services to existing subscribers. For more information regarding ARPS and a reconciliation of ARPS to average revenue per subscriber calculated on a GAAP basis, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

 

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Monthly Recurring Revenue Retention Rate

We believe that our ability to retain revenue from our subscribers is an indicator of the long-term value of our subscriber relationships and the stability of our revenue base. To assess our performance in this area, we measure our monthly recurring revenue, or MRR, retention rate. We calculate MRR retention rate at the end of a period by taking the retained recurring value of subscription revenue of all active subscribers at the end of the prior period and dividing it into the retained recurring value of subscription revenue for those same subscribers at the end of the period presented. We believe MRR retention rate is an indicator of our ability to retain existing subscribers, sell products and services and maintain subscriber satisfaction.

Our MRR retention rate was 99% for all periods presented.

Adjusted Net Income

Adjusted net income is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as net income (loss) plus changes in deferred revenue inclusive of purchase accounting adjustments related to acquisitions, stock-based compensation expense, severance, expenses related to restructurings or integration of acquisitions, any dividend-related payments accounted for as compensation expense, costs associated with litigation matters and preparation for this offering and the estimated tax effects of the foregoing adjustments. From 2010 to 2011, our adjusted net income increased from $9.1 million to $61.9 million as we expanded our business and achieved greater scale benefits. In 2012, we had adjusted net income of $27.7 million due to impacts from acquisitions and an increase in our interest payments due to increased borrowings. Our adjusted net income increased from $25.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 to $58.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013, primarily as a result of expanding our business and achieving greater scale benefits, partially offset by increased interest expense and impact from acquisitions. For more information regarding adjusted net income and a reconciliation of adjusted net income to net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as adjusted net income plus interest expense, depreciation, amortization and change in deferred taxes. In 2010, 2011 and 2012, adjusted EBITDA was $25.1 million, $93.9 million and $132.8 million, respectively. This increase was primarily attributable to increases in the size of our business and achieving greater scale benefits. Adjusted EBITDA increased from $63.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 to $110.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013, primarily as a result of increases in the size of our business and achieving greater scale benefits. For more information regarding adjusted EBITDA and a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Unlevered Free Cash Flow

Unlevered free cash flow, or UFCF, is a non-GAAP financial measure that we calculate as adjusted EBITDA plus change in operating assets and liabilities (other than deferred revenue) net of acquisitions less capital expenditures. UFCF increased from $26.4 million in 2010 to $76.7 million in 2011 and increased further to $101.2 million in 2012. These increases resulted primarily from our ability to increase revenue generated from our subscribers and to manage our costs. UFCF increased from $45.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 to $85.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013, resulting primarily from our efforts to increase revenue and manage costs, partially offset by significant capital expenditures in 2013 related to our consolidation of HostGator data center operations into our platform, which we expect to result in substantial cost savings once complete. For more information regarding UFCF and a reconciliation of UFCF to net loss, the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

 

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Directi Acquisition

In August 2013, we entered into a master share purchase agreement to acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Directi from Directi Holdings, the seller, for an amount we estimate will be between $100 million and $110 million in cash or, at the election of the seller, a combination of cash and shares of our common stock, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of specified customary closing conditions and the achievement of specified financial targets. Directi provides web presence solutions to SMBs in various countries, including India, the United States, Turkey, China, Russia, and Indonesia. We expect to close the acquisition during the fourth quarter of 2013. In connection with entering into the agreement, we paid $5 million to Directi Holdings, which will be credited against the purchase price and will be refunded if the acquisition does not close for specified reasons.

Under the agreement, we will be obligated at the closing of the acquisition to make a cash payment of approximately 50% of the aggregate purchase price, less the $5 million we paid at signing, to Directi Holdings and to issue a promissory note to Directi Holdings in an original principal amount equal to approximately 50% of the aggregate purchase price. The note will mature on April 15, 2014. At maturity, we will be obligated to pay an amount equal to the greater of the original principal amount of the promissory note or the annualized revenues associated with the Directi business for specified periods, in each case, without interest. If the acquisition closes after the completion of this offering or a change in control of us, in lieu of our issuing the promissory note, Directi Holdings may elect to have us pay all amounts payable at closing in cash. Alternatively, if the acquisition closes after the completion of this offering, Directi Holdings may elect to have us pay up to 50% of the aggregate estimated purchase price at the date of closing of the acquisition by issuing shares of our common stock to Directi Holdings based on the initial public offering price. If Directi Holdings makes such an election in full, based on the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, we would be obligated to issue                  shares of our common stock.

In addition, in connection with our proposed acquisition of Directi, we entered into agreements with entities affiliated with Directi Holdings related to participation in the auction of new top level domain extensions and domain monetization activities, pursuant to which, among other things, we may be obligated to make aggregate cash payments of up to a maximum of approximately $62 million, subject to specified terms, conditions and operational contingencies.

Components of Operating Results

Revenue

We generate revenue from selling subscriptions to our cloud-based products and services ranging from initial website design and creation, to commerce solutions, and to more complex services such as scalable and on demand computing, security, online marketing solutions, mobile applications and productivity tools. The subscriptions we offer are similar across all of our brands and are provided under contracts pursuant to which we have ongoing obligations to support the subscriber. These contracts are generally for service periods of up to 36 months and typically require payment in advance. We sell more subscriptions with annual terms than with any other term length. We also earn revenue from domain name registrations and the sale of non-term based products and services, such as online security products, professional technical services, website design and search engine optimization services, as well as through referral fees and commissions.

Cost of Revenue

Cost of revenue includes costs of operating our customer support organization, fees we pay to register domain names for our subscribers, costs of leasing and operating data center infrastructure, including personnel costs for our network operations, fees we pay to third-party product and service

 

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providers, and merchant fees we pay as part of our billing processes. We also allocate to cost of revenue the depreciation and amortization related to these activities and the intangible assets we have acquired, as well as a portion of our overhead costs attributable to our employees engaged in customer support activities. In addition, cost of revenue includes stock-based compensation expense for employees engaged in support and network operations. We expect cost of revenue to increase in absolute dollars in future periods as we expand our subscriber base, increase our levels of customer support, expand our domain name business and add data center capacity. Cost of revenue may increase or decrease as a percentage of revenue in a given period, depending on our ability to manage our infrastructure costs, in particular with respect to data centers and support, and as a result of our amortization expense.

Gross Profit

Gross profit is the difference between revenue and cost of revenue. Gross profit has fluctuated from period to period in large part as a result of revenue and cost of revenue adjustments from purchase accounting impacts related to acquisitions, including the Sponsor Acquisition, as well as revenue and cost of revenue impacts from growth in our business. The application of purchase accounting requires us to record purchase accounting adjustments for acquired deferred revenue, which reduces the revenue recorded from acquisitions. The application of purchase accounting requires us to defer domain registration costs (which reduces cost of revenue) and record long-lived assets at fair value (which increases cost of revenue) through an increase in amortization expense over the estimated useful life of the long-lived assets. In addition, our revenue and our cost of revenue have increased in recent years as our subscriber base has expanded. For a new subscriber that we bring on to our platform, we typically recognize revenue over the term of the subscription, even though we collect the subscription fee at the initial billing. As a result, our gross profit may be affected by the prices we charge for our subscriptions, as well as by the number of new subscribers and the terms of their subscriptions. We expect our gross profit to increase in absolute dollars in future periods while our gross profit margin may increase or decrease.

Operating Expense

We classify our operating expense into three categories: sales and marketing, engineering and development, and general and administrative.

Sales and Marketing.    Sales and marketing expense primarily consists of costs associated with payments to our network of partners, search engine marketing and search engine optimization, general awareness and brand building activities, and the cost of employees engaged in sales and marketing activities. Sales and marketing expense includes stock-based compensation expense for employees engaged in sales and marketing activities. We expect sales and marketing expense to increase in absolute dollars in future periods as we continue to expand our business and increase our sales efforts. We also expect sales and marketing expense to be our largest category of operating expense for the foreseeable future. Sales and marketing expense as a percentage of revenue may increase or decrease in a given period, depending on the cost of attracting new subscribers to our solutions, changes in how we approach search engine marketing and search engine optimization and the extent of general awareness and brand building activities we may undertake as well as the efficiency of our sales force.

Engineering and Development.    Engineering and development expense includes the cost of employees engaged in enhancing our systems, developing and expanding product and service offerings, and integrating technology capabilities from our acquisitions. Engineering and development expense includes stock-based compensation expense for employees engaged in engineering and development activities. We expect engineering and development expense to increase in absolute dollars in future periods as we continue to enhance existing solutions and develop new solutions, but to decrease marginally as a percentage of revenue in future periods.

 

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General and Administrative.    General and administrative expense includes the cost of employees engaged in corporate functions, such as finance, human resources, legal affairs and general management. General and administrative expense also includes all facility and related overhead costs not allocated to cost of revenue, as well as insurance premiums and professional service fees. We are incurring additional expenses in preparing for our initial public offering, and will continue to incur additional expenses associated with being a publicly traded company, including increased legal, corporate insurance and accounting expenses, and the additional costs of achieving and maintaining compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other regulations. General and administrative expense includes stock-based compensation expense for employees engaged in general and administrative activities. We expect that general and administrative expense will continue to increase in absolute dollars and may increase as a percentage of revenue as we further expand our operations and operate as a public company.

Net Interest Income (Expense)

Interest expense consists primarily of costs related to, and interest paid on, our indebtedness. We include the cash cost of interest payments and loan financing fees, the amortization of deferred financing costs and the amortization of the net present value adjustment which we may apply to some deferred consideration payments related to our acquisitions in our calculation of interest expense. Interest income consists primarily of interest income earned on our cash and cash equivalents balances. We expect net interest expense to decrease in future periods as we reduce our indebtedness, provided that interest rates remain similar to those currently in place.

Income Tax Expense (Benefit)

We estimate our income taxes in accordance with the asset and liability method, under which deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized based on temporary differences between the assets and liabilities in our consolidated financial statements and the financial statements that are prepared in accordance with tax regulations for the purpose of filing our income tax returns, using statutory tax rates. This methodology requires us to record a valuation allowance against net deferred tax assets if, based upon the available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. For the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012, we were in a net deferred tax liability position and therefore did not record a valuation allowance.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reported periods. We base our estimates, judgments and assumptions on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Our actual results may differ from the estimates, judgments and assumptions made by our management. To the extent that there are differences between our estimates, judgments and assumptions and our actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows may be affected. We believe that the following significant accounting policies, which are more fully described in the notes to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus, involve a greater degree of judgment and complexity. Accordingly, these are the policies we believe are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our financial condition and results of operations.

 

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Revenue Recognition

We generate revenue from selling subscriptions to our cloud-based products and services. The subscriptions we offer are similar across all of our brands and provided under contracts pursuant to which we have ongoing obligations to support the subscriber. These contracts are generally for service periods of up to 36 months and typically require payment in advance. We recognize the associated revenue ratably over the service period, whether the associated revenue is derived from a direct subscriber or through a reseller. Deferred revenue represents the liability to subscribers for advance billings for services not yet provided and the fair value of the assumed liability outstanding for subscriber relationships purchased in an acquisition.

We sell domain name registrations that provide a subscriber with the exclusive use of a domain name. These domains are obtained either by one of our registrars on the subscriber’s behalf, or by us from third-party registrars on the subscriber’s behalf. Domain registration fees are non-refundable.

Revenue from the sale of a domain name registration by one of our registrars is recognized ratably over the subscriber’s service period as we have the obligation to provide support over the domain term. Revenue from the sale of a domain name registration purchased by us from a third-party registrar is recognized when the subscriber is billed on a gross basis as we have no remaining obligations once the sale to the subscriber occurs, and we have full discretion on the sales price and bear all credit risk.

We also earn revenue from the sale of non-term based products and services, such as online security products, professional technical services, website design and search engine optimization services, referral fees and commissions. We recognize such revenue when the product is purchased, the service is provided or the referral fee or commission is earned.

A substantial amount of our revenue is generated from transactions that are multiple-element service arrangements that may include hosting plans, domain name registrations, and cloud-based products and services. Prior to January 1, 2011, when we entered into such arrangements, each element was accounted for separately over its respective service period, provided that such element had value to the subscriber on a stand-alone basis and there was objective and reliable evidence of fair value for such element. If these criteria could not be objectively met or determined, the total value of the bundled services was generally recognized ratably over the entire service period of the hosting plan.

In October 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2009-13, Revenue Recognition (Topic 605), Multiple-Deliverable Revenue Arrangements—a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force, which amended the previous accounting guidance for multiple-element arrangements. Under this new guidance, objective and reliable evidence of fair value of the undelivered elements is no longer required to account for deliverables in a multiple-element service arrangement separately. Instead, the total transaction amount of the multiple-element service arrangement is allocated to each deliverable based on their relative selling price. This guidance eliminates the use of the residual method under the previous guidance. Effective January 1, 2011, we adopted this new accounting guidance on a prospective basis and have applied it to those multiple-element arrangements entered into on or after January 1, 2011. The adoption of this accounting guidance did not have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Under the new accounting guidance, to treat deliverables in a multiple-element service arrangement as separate units of accounting, the deliverables must have standalone value upon delivery. If the deliverables have standalone value upon delivery, we account for each deliverable separately. Hosting services, domain name registrations, cloud-based products and services have standalone value and are often sold separately.

 

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When multiple deliverables included in a multiple-element service arrangement are separated into different units of accounting, the total transaction amount is allocated to the identified separate units based on a relative selling price hierarchy. We determine the relative selling price for a deliverable based on vendor specific objective evidence, or VSOE, of fair value, if available, or best estimate of selling price, or BESP, if VSOE is not available. We have determined that third-party evidence of selling price, or TPE, is not a practical alternative due to differences in our multi-brand offerings compared to competitors and the availability of relevant third-party pricing information. We have not established VSOE for our offerings due to lack of pricing consistency, the introduction of new products, services and other factors. Accordingly, we generally allocate revenue to the deliverables in the arrangement based on the BESP. We determine BESP by considering our relative selling prices, competitive prices in the marketplace and management judgment; these selling prices, however, may vary depending upon the particular facts and circumstances related to each deliverable. We plan to analyze the selling prices used in our allocation of transaction amount, at a minimum, on a quarterly basis. Selling prices will be analyzed on a more frequent basis if a significant change in our business necessitates a more timely analysis.

Goodwill

Goodwill relates to amounts that arose in connection with our various acquisitions and represents the difference between the purchase price and the fair value of the identifiable intangible and tangible net assets when accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting. Goodwill is not amortized, but is subject to periodic review for impairment. Events that would indicate impairment and trigger an interim impairment assessment include, but are not limited to, current economic and market conditions, a decline in the equity value of the business, a significant adverse change in certain agreements that would materially affect reported operating results, business climate or operational performance of the business and an adverse action or assessment by a regulator.

In accordance with ASU No. 2011-08, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350) Testing Goodwill for Impairment, we are required to review goodwill by reporting unit for impairment at least annually or more often if there are indicators of impairment present. We have determined our entire business represents one reporting unit. Historically, we have performed our annual impairment analysis during the fourth quarter of each year. The provisions of ASC 350 require us to perform a two-step impairment test for goodwill. In the first step, we compare the fair value of each reporting unit to which goodwill has been allocated to its carrying value. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds the carrying value of the net assets assigned to that reporting unit, goodwill is considered not impaired and we are not required to perform further testing. If the carrying value of the net assets assigned to the reporting unit exceeds the fair value of the reporting unit, then we must perform the second step of the impairment test to determine the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill. If the carrying value of a reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, then we record an impairment loss equal to the difference. Due to the timing of the Sponsor Acquisition on December 22, 2011, and the absence of indicators of impairment through the year ended December 31, 2011, we recorded no impairment of goodwill for the 2011 successor period ended December 31, 2011. As of December 31, 2012, the fair value of our reporting unit exceeded the carrying value of the reporting unit’s net assets by more than 600% and, therefore, no impairment existed as of that date.

Determining the fair value of a reporting unit, if applicable, requires us to make judgments and involves the use of significant estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions relate to, among other things, revenue growth rates and operating margins used to calculate projected future cash flow, risk-adjusted discount rates, future economic and market conditions and appropriate market comparables. We base fair value estimates on assumptions we believe to be reasonable but that are unpredictable and inherently uncertain. Actual future results may differ from those estimates.

 

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As of December 31, 2012, we had goodwill of $936.7 million and have recorded no impairment charges.

Long-Lived Assets

Our long-lived assets consist primarily of intangible assets, including acquired subscriber relationships, trade names, intellectual property, developed technology, in-process research and development. We also have long-lived tangible assets, primarily consisting of property and equipment. The majority of our intangible assets have been recorded in connection with our acquisitions, including the Sponsor Acquisition. We record intangible assets at fair value at the time of their acquisition. We amortize intangible assets over their estimated useful lives.

Our determination of the estimated useful lives of the individual categories of intangible assets is based on the nature of the applicable intangible asset and the expected future cash flow to be derived from the intangible asset. We amortize intangible assets with finite lives in accordance with their estimated projected cash flows.

We evaluate long-lived intangible and tangible assets whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. If indicators of impairment are present and undiscounted future cash flow is less than the carrying amount, then we determine the fair value of the assets and compare it to the carrying value. If the fair value is less than the carrying value, then we reduce the carrying value to the estimated fair value and record an impairment in the period it is identified. We did not recognize any impairments of long-lived intangible and tangible assets in the years ended December 31, 2011 or 2012.

Depreciation and Amortization

We purchase or build the servers we place in the data centers that we lease. We also purchase the computer equipment that is used by our support and sales teams and employees in our offices. We capitalize the build-out of our facilities as leasehold improvements. Cost of revenue includes depreciation on data center equipment and support infrastructure. We also include depreciation in general and administrative expense, which includes depreciation on office equipment and leasehold improvements.

Amortization expense consists of expense related to the amortization of intangible long-lived assets. In connection with our acquisitions, we allocate fair value to acquired long-lived intangible assets, which include subscriber relationships, trademarks and developed technology. We use estimates and valuation techniques to determine the estimated useful lives of our intangible assets and amortize them to cost of revenue.

Income Taxes

We provide for income taxes in accordance with ASC 740, Accounting for Income Taxes. We recognize deferred tax assets and liabilities for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carry-forwards. We measure deferred tax assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates that we expect to apply to taxable income in the years in which we expect those temporary differences to be recovered or settled. We recognize the effect of changes in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities in the period that includes the enactment date. We account for uncertain tax positions following the provisions of ASC 740. ASC 740 clarifies the accounting for income taxes, by prescribing a minimum recognition threshold that a tax position is required to meet before being recognized in the financial statements. We recognize the effect of income tax positions only if those positions are more likely than not of being sustained. We measure

 

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recognized income tax positions at the largest amount that is more likely than not to be realized. We reflect changes in recognition or measurement in the period in which the change in judgment occurs.

We record interest related to unrecognized tax benefits in interest expense and penalties in operating expense. We did not recognize any interest or penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits during 2011 or 2012.

Stock-Based Compensation Arrangements

Prior to this offering and since the Sponsor Acquisition, our stock-based awards have consisted of awards of class B units in WP Expedition Topco, which was our ultimate parent company prior to our corporate reorganization. For more information on our corporate reorganization, see “Corporate Reorganization.”

In connection with the Sponsor Acquisition, which occurred on December 22, 2011, our equity structure was reorganized to consist of class A units and class B units of WP Expedition Topco. Since then, we have made stock-based awards to employees in the form of “profits interests” with respect to class B units in WP Expedition Topco. Each profits interest is granted with a “threshold amount,” meaning that the recipient of the profits interest only participates in the value of WP Expedition Topco to the extent that the entity appreciates in value from and after the date of grant of the profits interest (with the value of the entity as of the grant date being the “threshold amount”). For this purpose, the U.S. federal income tax rules allow taxpayers to set the threshold amount based on the liquidation value of the entity as of the date of grant (without the need to take into account the future potential value of the entity). Thus, each award of class B units granted by WP Expedition Topco had a threshold amount based on the liquidation value of the entity as of the grant date of the award.

As required for financial statement reporting purposes, we recognize stock-based compensation expense for awards of class B units based on the estimated “fair value” of the class B units on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period for those awards subject to time vesting and when it is probable a performance target will be met for those awards with vesting subject to the achievement of performance targets. Unless otherwise determined by our board of directors, awards of class B units are allocated 50% to class B-1 units, which generally vest over a four-year period, and 50% to class B-2 units, which vest depending on the achievement of specified performance targets.

In accordance with the guidelines outlined in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Practice Aid, “Valuation of Privately-Held-Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation,” for financial statement reporting purposes, the “fair value” of our equity was determined by management. Because, at the time the class B units were granted, we were a private company with no active market for our equity securities, in connection with preparing our 2012 financial statements, in May 2013, we retrospectively assessed the fair value of our class B units for the 2012 and January 2013 grants for financial statement reporting purposes, as described below. In doing so, valuation analyses were prepared and were used by our management to assist in determining the fair value of our class B units. The assumptions used in the valuation models were based on future expectations combined with management’s judgment. In the absence of a public trading market, our management exercised significant judgment and considered numerous objective and subjective factors to determine the fair value of the class B units as of the date of each award grant. These factors included:

 

  Ÿ  

contemporaneous or retrospective valuations for our company and our securities;

 

  Ÿ  

the rights, preferences, and privileges of the class B-1 and class B-2 units relative to each other as well as to the class A units;

 

  Ÿ  

lack of marketability of our equity securities;

 

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  Ÿ  

historical operating and financial performance;

 

  Ÿ  

our stage of development;

 

  Ÿ  

current business conditions and projections;

 

  Ÿ  

hiring of key personnel and the experience of our management team;

 

  Ÿ  

risks inherent to the development of our products and services and delivery of our solutions;

 

  Ÿ  

trends and developments in our industry;

 

  Ÿ  

the threshold amount for the class B units and the values at which the class B-2 units would vest;

 

  Ÿ  

the market performance of comparable publicly traded companies;

 

  Ÿ  

likelihood of achieving a liquidity event, such as an initial public offering or a merger or acquisition of our company given prevailing market conditions; and

 

  Ÿ  

U.S. and global economic and capital market conditions.

For purposes of preparing these valuations, our enterprise value was first determined and then adjusted for the level of our indebtedness to determine the fair value of equity of our company. This fair value of equity was then allocated among the securities that comprise our capital structure using the option-pricing method. The option-pricing method treats equity securities as call options on the total fair value of equity of the company, with exercise prices based on the value thresholds at which the allocation among the various holders of our securities changes. The option-pricing method is based on the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Black-Scholes assumes an option is exercisable only at expiration and incorporates five fundamental inputs: stock price, exercise price, term, risk-free rate and volatility. Dividend yield may be incorporated as an adjustment if there is an expected dividend. The assumptions for volatility, expected life, risk-free rate, expected dividend yield and lack of marketability for our grants of class B units since January 1, 2012 were as follows:

 

Grant Date

   Risk-
Free Rate
    Expected
Volatility
    Expected
Life (in
years)
     Expected
Dividend
Yield
     Discount For
Lack of
Marketability
 

February 22, 2012

     0.4     45     2.75                 28.4

May 17, 2012

     0.4     45     2.75                 28.4

November 7, 2012

     0.3     40     2.0                 21.9

December 17, 2012

     0.2     40     1.88                 21.3

January 8, 2013

     0.2     40     1.88                 21.3

To apply the option-pricing method, the rights and preferences of the various securities that comprise the capital structure of our company were first determined. Next the various fair values of equity (referred to under the option-pricing model as the “exercise prices”) at which the sharing percentages would change among our securities were calculated. These exercise prices were based on liquidation preferences of preferred securities, the threshold values of the class B units and values at which the class B-2 units would vest. The values of the options associated with each exercise price were calculated using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The option value bands were allocated to the various security holders who would share in the equity if the value of our company was between the two corresponding exercise prices. The volatility of our company’s fair value of equity was estimated by examining the standard deviation of stock returns of several comparable companies. The term input was established based on management’s expectations of timing to a liquidity event, and the risk-free rate corresponds to the expected term. Following the equity allocation, a discount for lack of marketability was applied to the class B-1 units and class B-2 units to reflect the increased risk arising from the inability to readily sell the units.

 

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The following table summarizes our grants of class B units since January 1, 2012 (per unit values presented include the applicable marketability discount):

 

Grant Date

  Threshold
Value
(in millions)
    Fair Value
of Equity

(in millions)
    Number of
Class B-1

Units
Granted
    Per
Class  B-1
Unit Fair
Value
    Number  of
Class  B-2
Units
Granted
    Per
Class  B-2
Unit Fair
Value
    Aggregate
Estimated
Fair Value of
Class B-1
Units and
Class B-2
Units Granted
(in thousands)
 

February 22, 2012

  $ 508.4      $ 480.2        22,919,540      $ 0.17        22,919,540      $ 0.07      $ 5,501   

May 17, 2012

    508.4        480.2        200,000        0.17        200,000        0.07        48   

November 7, 2012

    735.6        435.6        13,864,358        0.12                      1,664   

December 17, 2012

    516.0        427.3        1,285,117        0.18        1,285,117        0.02        257   

January 8, 2013

    516.0        427.3        1,536,387        0.18        1,536,387        0.02        307   

Significant factors contributing to the fair value of the class B-1 units and class B-2 units at the date of each grant and changes in fair value between grant dates were as follows:

February and May 2012.    We granted 45,839,080 class B units on February 22, 2012 and 400,000 class B units on May 17, 2012, allocated on each date equally between class B-1 units and class B-2 units. Our board of directors, with input from management, concluded there had been no material changes in our business between the Sponsor Acquisition in December 2011 and February 2012. As a result, our board of directors granted the class B units on February 22, 2012 with a threshold amount equal to $508.4 million, which is equal to the invested equity by holders of class A units as of the date of the Sponsor Acquisition. For purposes of determining the “fair value“ of the class B units for financial statement reporting purposes, management, after considering numerous objective and subjective factors, determined that the company had a fair value of equity of $480.2 million at February 22, 2012. This fair value of equity was determined by taking the $975.0 million implied enterprise value of the company (which includes both invested equity and debt) as of the date of the Sponsor Acquisition and adjusting this amount for cash and indebtedness of the company as of February 22, 2012. The resulting fair value of equity at February 22, 2012 was then allocated among the securities that comprised our capital structure using the option-pricing method. Other key inputs into the option-pricing method included an expected volatility of 45%, a term of 2.75 years based on the expected holding period until a major liquidity event (meaning an initial public offering or change of control transaction) and a risk-free rate of 0.4% corresponding to the expected term. The aggregate value of the units derived from the option-pricing method was then divided by the number of units outstanding to arrive at the per unit values. A 28.4% discount for lack of marketability was applied to the class B-1 units and class B-2 units to reflect the increased risk arising from the inability to readily sell the units. The class B-1 units and class B-2 units were valued as part of the same option-pricing method, but their fair values depended on their vesting requirements. The class B-1 units were assumed to be fully vested at the time of a future liquidity event as the class B-1 units vest based on a service condition and only participate in equity distributions on a pro rata basis following the complete return of contributed capital to the class A units (i.e., the threshold amount for such class B units). The class B-2 units vest in the event specified equity return targets or thresholds have been met with respect to the class A units. Therefore, the pro rata equity distribution in respect of class B-2 units is contingent upon the total future value at the time of a liquidity event and, to the extent vested, the class B-2 units only participate in equity distributions on a pro rata basis following the complete return of contributed capital to the class A units (i.e., the threshold amount for such class B units is satisfied). This market condition is reflected in the fair value estimate of the class B-2 units.

Our board of directors, with input from management, and after considering numerous other objective and subjective factors, concluded that there had been no material changes in our business

 

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between February 22, 2012 and May 17, 2012. As a result, both the threshold amount and the fair value determined as of February 22, 2012 were used for purposes of the class B units awarded on May 17, 2012.

November 2012.    We granted 13,864,358 class B-1 units on November 7, 2012. Our board of directors determined the threshold amount for the November 7, 2012 grants to be equal to $735.6 million. This threshold amount was based on the valuation analysis described below, adding back the $300.0 million pending dividend payment. In determining the fair value of the class B-1 units granted on November 7, 2012 for financial statement reporting purposes, we undertook a valuation analysis as of October 31, 2012 to give effect on a pro forma basis to our 2012 acquisitions of HostGator and Homestead, which took into consideration the debt refinancing and $300.0 million dividend payment transaction that was in process and closed on November 9, 2012. Our management after considering numerous objective and subjective factors, concluded that there were no material changes in our business from October 31, 2012 through November 7, 2012, other than those considered in the pro forma adjustments described above. Our management therefore determined that no additional adjustments were necessary. The valuation then involved a two-step process. First, the $1,618.2 million enterprise value of our company was established using generally accepted valuation methodologies, including discounted cash flow analysis, comparable public company analysis and comparable acquisitions analysis. Each methodology was considered and equally weighted in the final enterprise value estimate. After determining the enterprise value, this amount was adjusted for our cash and indebtedness to determine the total fair value of equity of the company, which amounted to $435.6 million. Second, the fair value of equity was allocated among the equity securities that comprised our capital structure using the option-pricing method. Other key inputs into the option-pricing method included an expected volatility of 40%, a term of 2.0 years based on the expected holding period until a liquidity event and a risk-free rate of 0.3% corresponding to the expected term.

The aggregate value of the units derived from the option-pricing method was then divided by the number of units outstanding to arrive at the per unit values. A 21.9% discount for lack of marketability was applied to the class B-1 units and class B-2 units to reflect the increased risk arising from the inability to readily sell the units. As discussed above, the class B-1 units were assumed to be fully vested upon a future liquidity event and receive pro rata equity distributions once the threshold amount with respect to such units has been achieved. The class B-2 units contain a market condition such that vesting is contingent upon future total equity value targets and, solely to the extent vested, the class B-2 units participate in equity distributions on a pro rata basis once the threshold amount with respect to such units has been achieved. The fair value of the class B-2 units reflected their specific targets.

December 2012 and January 2013.    We granted 1,285,117 class B units on December 17, 2012 and 1,536,387 class B units on January 8, 2013, allocated on each date equally between class B-1 units and class B-2 units. Our board of directors, with input from management, concluded that there had been no material changes in our business between October 31, 2012 and January 2013. Our board of directors therefore determined the threshold amount for these grants to be $516.0 million. This threshold amount was determined by starting with the post-dividend enterprise value determined in the November 2012 valuation analysis and adding the amount of cash on hand. For purposes of determining the fair value of the class B units for financial statement reporting purposes, management, after considering numerous objective and subjective factors, determined that the company had a fair value of equity of $427.3 million at December 17, 2012. The fair value of equity of the company at December 17, 2012 was derived by taking the $1,618.2 million enterprise value of the company determined at the October 31, 2012 valuation analysis and adjusting this amount for cash and indebtedness of the company as of December 17, 2012.

 

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The resulting $427.3 million fair value of equity at December 17, 2012 was then allocated among the securities that comprised our capital structure using the option-pricing method. Other key inputs into the option-pricing method included an expected volatility of 40%, a term of 1.88 years based on the expected holding period until a liquidity event and a risk-free rate of 0.2% corresponding to the expected term. The aggregate value of the units derived from the option-pricing method was then divided by the number of units outstanding to arrive at the per unit values. A 21.3% discount for lack of marketability was applied to the class B-1 units and class B-2 units to reflect the increased risk arising from the inability to readily sell the units. As discussed above, the class B-1 units were assumed to be fully vested upon a future liquidity event and receive pro rata equity distributions once the threshold amount with respect to such units has been achieved. The class B-2 units contain a market condition such that vesting is contingent upon future total equity value targets and, solely to the extent vested, the class B-2 units participate in equity distributions on a pro rata basis once the threshold amount with respect to such units has been achieved. The fair value of the class B-2 units reflected their specific targets.

Our board of directors, with input from management, and after considering numerous other objective and subjective factors, concluded that there had been no material changes in our business between December 17, 2012 and January 8, 2013. As a result, the fair value determined as of December 17, 2012 was used to value the class B units awarded on January 8, 2013.

Impact of Sponsor Acquisition

On December 22, 2011, investment funds and entities affiliated with Warburg Pincus and Goldman Sachs acquired a controlling interest in our company. As a result, our consolidated financial statements present our operating results and cash flows separately for periods prior to and after the Sponsor Acquisition. Our company is referred to as the “predecessor” for all periods prior to the Sponsor Acquisition and is referred to as the “successor” for all periods after the Sponsor Acquisition. Accordingly, our operating results and cash flows for calendar year 2011 consist of the operating results and cash flows of the predecessor for the period January 1 through December 21, 2011 and the operating results and cash flows of the successor for the period December 22 through December 31, 2011. The tables below summarize our operating results for all periods presented in our consolidated financial statements. Because the successor had only ten days of operations in calendar year 2011, the discussion below of our 2011 operating results is based solely on the results of the predecessor for the period January 1 through December 21, 2011. For additional information about the Sponsor Acquisition, see Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.

Our predecessor financial statements were not affected by the application of purchase accounting related to the Sponsor Acquisition. The application of purchase accounting required us to record all acquired assets and liabilities, including deferred revenue, deferred costs and long-lived assets, at fair value, which in some cases was different than their book values. As a result, our consolidated statements of operations for periods subsequent to December 22, 2011 will not be directly comparable to our consolidated statements of operations for periods prior to December 22, 2011. The total impact of the purchase accounting treatment on our loss from operations resulting from the Sponsor Acquisition in the 2011 successor period and in 2012 was $2.0 million and $47.1 million, respectively, and the impact in the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013 was $29.9 million and $13.5 million, respectively. These impacts consisted of the following components:

Impact on Revenue.    We assessed the fair value of acquired deferred revenue to be $57.5 million, representing a decrease of $73.2 million from its $130.7 million book value. The effect of recording deferred revenue to fair value was to reduce revenue in successor periods. The impact to revenue in the 2011 successor period and in 2012 was $1.9 million and $47.2 million, respectively, and the impact in the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013 was $33.6 million and $4.1 million, respectively.

 

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Impact on Cost of Revenue.    In conjunction with recording deferred revenue at fair value, we recorded related deferred domain registration costs at fair value, resulting in a $13.6 million decrease in deferred costs in successor periods. The impact on cost of revenue from deferring domain registration costs in the 2011 successor period and in 2012 was $0.1 million and $11.9 million, respectively, and the impact in the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013 was $8.0 million and $0.6 million, respectively. In our assessment of fair value of acquired long-lived assets, we recorded the fair value of our developed technology at $167.0 million, representing an increase of $160.1 million from a book value of $6.9 million. This increase is being amortized on a straight-line basis over ten years. In addition, we recorded the fair value of our subscriber relationships and trademarks at $221.4 million, representing an increase of $104.2 million from a book value of $117.2 million. This increase is being amortized over ten to 15 years. The effect of recording long-lived assets at fair value was an increase in amortization expense to be recognized in successor periods. The impact on cost of revenue from amortizing the changes to acquired long lived assets in the 2011 successor period and in 2012 was $0.2 million and $11.8 million, respectively, and the impact in the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2013 was $4.3 million and $8.5 million, respectively.

The following table sets forth the impact of the application of purchase accounting from the Sponsor Acquisition as described above (all data in thousands):

 

    Predecessor          Successor  
    Year Ended
December  31,
2010
    Period from
January  1
through
December 21,
2011
         Period from
December  22
through
December 31,
2011
    Year Ended
December  31,
2012
    Six Months
Ended
June 30,
 
              2012     2013  
                              (unaudited)  

Revenue that would have been recognized from December 21, 2011 book value of deferred revenue

            —               —         $ (4,825   $ (89,468   $ (61,950   $ (10,926

Revenue recognized based on fair value of acquired deferred revenue

                    2,967        42,257        28,345        6,776   
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total impact to revenue

                  $ (1,859   $ (47,211   $ (33,605   $ (4,150
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Impact of reduced fair value of deferred domain registration costs

                    (130     (11,932     (8,050     (610

Amortization impact:

               

Amortization that would have been recognized from December 21, 2011 book value of long-lived assets

                    (1,495     (51,636     (27,217     (17,099

Amortization on fair value of acquired long-lived assets recorded

                    1,732        63,409        31,531        27,046   
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total amortization impact

                    237        11,773        4,314        9,947   
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total impact to cost of revenue

                    107        (159     (3,736     9,337   
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total impact to loss from operations

                  $ (1,966   $ (47,052   $ (29,869   $ (13,487
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

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Results of Operations

The following tables set forth our results of operations for the periods presented (all data in thousands). The period-to-period comparison of financial results is not necessarily indicative of future results.

 

    Predecessor          Successor  
    Year Ended
December 31,
2010
    Period from
January 1
through
December 21,
2011
         Period from
December 22
through
December 31,
2011
    Year Ended
December 31,
2012
    Six Months
Ended
June 30,
 
              2012     2013  
                                 (unaudited)  

Revenue

  $ 87,781      $ 187,340          $ 2,967      $ 292,156      $ 91,768      $ 250,963   

Cost of revenue

    74,993        133,399            3,901        237,179        80,568        175,180   
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Gross profit

    12,788        53,941            (934     54,977        11,200        75,783   
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Operating expense:

               

Sales and marketing

    33,412        54,932            1,482        83,110        36,558        58,299   

Engineering and development

    2,746        5,538            101        13,803        3,998        12,235   

General and administrative

    7,136        16,938            3,755        48,411        12,248        28,363   
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expense

    43,294        77,408            5,338        145,324        52,804        98,897   
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from operations

    (30,506     (23,467         (6,272     (90,347     (41,604     (23,114

Net interest income (expense)

    (13,814     (50,291         (855     (126,131     (18,840     (43,509
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

    (44,320     (73,758         (7,127     (216,478     (60,444     (66,623

Income tax expense (benefit)

    26        126            (2,746     (77,203     (21,428     (1,671

Equity losses (income) of unconsolidated entities, net of tax

                             23               (266
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

  $ (44,346   $ (73,884       $ (4,381   $ (139,298   $ (39,016   $ (64,686
 

 

 

   

 

 

       

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Comparison of Six Months Ended June 30, 2012 and 2013

Revenue

 

     Six Months
Ended June 30,
     Change  
     2012      2013      Amount      %  

Revenue

   $ 91,768       $ 250,963       $ 159,195         173

Revenue increased by $159.2 million, or 173%, from $91.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 to $251.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013, due to increased demand for our solutions from both new and existing subscribers, including subscribers of businesses we acquired, as well as increases in prices paid by our subscribers at renewals or after expiration of promotional periods. Of this revenue increase, $107.7 million resulted from revenue attributable to businesses we acquired since June 30, 2012, $29.5 million was a result of lower revenue in the six months ended June 30, 2012 due to purchase accounting adjustments to deferred revenue, and $22.0 million was primarily attributable to an increase in the number of subscribers not associated with our acquisitions.

Cost of Revenue

 

     Six Months Ended June 30,               
     2012     2013     Change  
     Amount      % of
Revenue
    Amount      % of
Revenue
    Amount      %  

Cost of revenue

   $ 80,568         88   $ 175,180         70   $ 94,612         117

 

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Cost of revenue increased by $94.6 million, or 117%, from $80.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 to $175.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013. Of this increase, $79.0 million was due to cost of revenue attributable to businesses we acquired since June 30, 2012, and $12.4 million was attributable to growth in the business offset by a $9.9 million decrease in amortization expense. The $12.4 million from growth in the business was primarily due to a $4.7 million increase in depreciation expense as we expanded our data center infrastructure, a $3.8 million increase in domain registration costs, a $1.8 million increase in costs attributable to third party services as our business expanded and $2.1 million of payroll and benefits associated with increased headcount as we enhanced our support infrastructure to serve our expanding subscriber base. The impact of the purchase accounting adjustments related to amortization and domain registration costs was $13.1 million.

Gross Profit

 

     Six Months Ended June 30,               
     2012     2013     Change  
     Amount      % of
Revenue
    Amount      % of
Revenue
    Amount      %  

Gross profit

   $ 11,200         12   $ 75,783         30   $ 64,583         577

Gross profit increased by $64.6 million, from $11.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 to $75.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013. Of this increase, $28.7 million was attributable to increases in our subscriber base primarily as a result of the HostGator and Homestead businesses we acquired subsequent to June 30, 2012, $19.5 million was attributable to increases in our subscriber base unrelated to business acquisitions and $16.1 million was due to the impact of purchase accounting adjustments related to the Sponsor Acquisition, consisting of recording the fair value of acquired deferred revenue and related deferred domain registration costs and the amortization expense arising from recording the fair value of our acquired long-lived assets.

Operating Expense

 

     Six Months Ended June 30,               
     2012     2013     Change  
     Amount      % of
Revenue
    Amount      % of
Revenue
    Amount      %  

Sales and marketing

   $ 36,558         40   $ 58,299         23   $ 21,741         59

Engineering and development

     3,998         5     12,235         5     8,237         206

General and administrative

     12,248         13     28,363         11     16,115         132
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

    

Total

   $ 52,804         58   $ 98,897         39   $ 46,093         87
  

 

 

      

 

 

      

 

 

    

Sales and Marketing.    Sales and marketing expense increased by $21.7 million, or 59%, from $36.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 to $58.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013. Of this increase, $16.4 million was attributable to sales and marketing expense incurred by businesses we acquired during 2012, and the remaining $5.3 million was primarily due to higher payroll and benefits associated with increased headcount as we expanded our sales and marketing organization.

Engineering and Development.    Engineering and development expense increased by $8.2 million, or 206%, from $4.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 to $12.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013. This increase was primarily due to our focus on integrating technology capabilities from acquisitions, enhancing our systems, expanding our product and service offerings and engineering and development headcount increases associated with our acquisitions

 

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since June 30, 3012. Engineering and development headcount increased from 67 employees as of June 30, 2012 to 174 employees as of June 30, 2013.

General and Administrative.    General and administrative expense increased by $16.1 million, or 132%, from $12.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 to $28.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013. Of this increase, $7.3 million consisted of general and administrative expense incurred by businesses we acquired since June 30, 2012, and the remaining $8.8 million increase was primarily due to increased expense associated with acquisitions, our preparation for becoming a public company and increased spending to support the growth in our business.

Net Interest Income (Expense)

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30,
     Change  
     2012      2013      Amount      %