TECH INVESTOR; Three Area Firms Pushing Ahead With IPOs
With the stock market as spongy as a swamp, and initial public offerings disappearing as if they were swallowed by quicksand, three fearless Washington entrepreneurs are nonetheless starting down the path toward going public.</br></br>While several would-be public companies in the region have pushed the pause button on their IPOs and the most recent one instantly fell below its offering price, three new deals have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.</br></br>Nettel Communications Inc. of Washington, which provides communications services to medium-size businesses, hopes to raise $175 million in an offering that was filed last Friday and made public this week.</br></br>MainControl Inc. of McLean hopes to raise about $57 million with an offering that hit the SEC two weeks ago. The company creates software that businesses use to manage their "e-infrastructure," which to non-geeks means their office computers, networks, Internet connections and other information technology equipment.</br></br>Vastera Inc. of Dulles wants to sell $70 million worth of stock. In an April 7 filing, Vastera said it provides international trade management services, using the Internet to help companies make their importing and exporting operations more efficient.