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ApnaCircle, a business and career networking site, might go for a listing in the next few months.
“We have got enquiries from bankers and financial institutions suggesting that we tap the stock market opportunity. This is after Linkedin's move to do so. We are evaluating various options such as listings on Nasdaq, or on Hong Kong or French bourses,” Mr Yogesh Bansal, founder and Chief Executive Officer of ApnaCircle.com, told Business Line .
Mr Bansal, who is in the city to attend the 20th World Wide Web Conference that concluded on Friday, said response to Linkedin's issue would be taken into consideration before going in for an IPO.
ApnaCircle.com merged with Viadeo of France in 2009 to form a cluster of region-wise networking sites led by its French parent Viadeo. The others in the merged entity were Tianji and Unyk, the leading networking sites of China and Canada respectively.
Besides helping people network, the move opened job options in different sectors and geographies and helped employers to identify suitable candidates for jobs.
“Though we have started the networking site in 2007, we thought we need to have a critical mass to emerge as a strong player. Being local, we are a global business networking site with strong presence in China, European Union and Canada,” he said.
Terming it ‘Glocalization strategy', he said the site gave access to global members to those in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
The combined entity has a membership of 36 million as against Linkedin's 90 million. It was adding 5,000 members in India and 20,000 members globally a day. With $25 million revenues last year, it achieved break even. It was expecting to touch $40 million in 2011. In three rounds of investment, the group received $13.50 million so far.
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The site charged 6 euros a month from its premium users in Europe for getting access to information on their fellow members in China and India. “We have decided not to charge from members belonging to India and China. As we grow more here, we will earn more in Europe,” he said.
It also earned income from companies as they used it for recruitment purposes.
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