U.S. Auto Parts plans a public stock offering
U.S. Auto Parts Inc., an online automotive parts retailer, is going public. Though it has yet to set terms, the company has filed a stock registration statement with the SEC and named RBC Capital Markets and Thomas Weisel as the lead underwriters.
U.S. Auto Parts, which operates three e-commerce sites, including Partstrain.com, Autopartswarehouse.com and USAutoparts.com, maintains a product database that maps 550,000 SKUs to over 4.3 million product applications based on vehicle makes, models and years.
In 2005, U.S. Auto Parts generated net income of $6.8 million on revenue of $59.7 million, compared with 2004 net income of $7.1 million revenue of $40.6 million. For the period January through September, the company is reporting net income of $1.3 million on revenue of $83.7 million.
With the proceeds, U.S. Auto Parts will repay a $35 million debt and use the remainder of the proceeds for general corporate purposes, including introduction of product categories, expansion of product categories and expansion into complementary businesses, the company says. In May U.S. Auto Parts acquired Partsbin.com, another web automotive parts retailer for $25 million.
U.S. Auto Parts was formed in 1995 as a distributor of aftermarket auto parts and launched its first web site in 2000. In September, the company’s web sites had approximately 6.8 million unique visitors. The number of orders placed through Partstrain.com, Autopartswarehouse.com and USAutoparts.com has also increased from approximately 288,000 in 2005 to approximately 505,000 for the nine months ended Sept. 30. Average order for the nine months of 2006 was approximately $120.
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