LookSmart, a once high-flying San Francisco-based pay-per-click and search advertising company, has bolstered its PR defenses amid a hostile takeover bid proposed by an investor group.
Sard Verbinnen and Co is working the PR beat for LookSmart while ICR is supporting investor relations for the company under senior VP and CFO Bill O’Kelly.
The company went public in 1999 on the strength of a deal to provide web search results to Microsoft’s MSN portal but has struggled since the deal was not renewed in 2003. Its Nasdaq-listed shares are currently trading around $0.85. [Shares peaked at $348.10 in March 2000.]
LookSmart last week said Aug. 2 that its board unanimously rejected a unsolicited $1-per-share cash offer from the group, PEEK Investments, as “financially inadequate” and not in the best interests of shareholders.
CEO Jean Yves Dexmier said the online ad market is rapidly growing and there is “significant demand” for an independent ad platform like his company’s.
PEEK, which was formed the purpose of the takeover bid and claims to represent a consortium of LookSmart shareholders via Snowy August Management and Platinum Management, went public with the bid June 29.
Michael Onghai, principal of Snowy August and a chartered financial analyst, has a background in digital media and online advertising. He warned that whether or not the tender offer is consummated, the PEEK group intends to monitor LookSmart and threatened a proxy fight if “directors are unable or unwilling to hold management accountable.”
Sard managing director Matt Benson in San Francisco is handling PR for LookSmart. John Mills, a senior managing director for ICR in Los Angeles, is supporting IR.