May 25, 2006

19 Min Read
Vonage S-1 Nuggets

NOON -- The Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG) IPO is embarrassing. I'm not quite sure how it happened.

But hey, investors have the right to make their own decisions. That's why we have S-1 filings. In the S-1, the company and its laywers tell the story themselves. I've been reading the Vonage S-1 and it is certainly entertaining. I'm not quite sure why anybody would want to invest in the company.

Here are some of the more interesting details that I found, excerpted from the Vonage S-1 document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) :

We have incurred significant operating losses since our inception. As a result, we have generated negative cash flows from operations, and had an accumulated deficit of $467.4 million at March 31, 2006. Our primary sources of funds have been proceeds from private placements of our preferred stock, a private placement of our convertible notes, operating revenues and borrowings under notes payable from our principal stockholder and Chairman, which were subsequently converted into shares of our preferred stock. Through the issuance of preferred stock, we raised proceeds, net of expenses, of $195.7 million in 2005. We also raised proceeds, net of expenses, of $240.2 million in December 2005 and January 2006 in a private placement of our convertible notes. We are using the proceeds from the sale of our convertible notes for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including to fund operating losses.



On October 16, 2005, a lawsuit was filed against us by Sprint Communications Company L.P. in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. Sprint alleges that we have infringed seven patents in connection with providing VoIP services. Sprint seeks injunctive relief, compensatory and treble damages and attorney's fees in unspecified amounts. In our answer filed on November 3, 2005, we have denied Sprint's allegations and have counterclaimed for a declaration of non-infringement, invalidity and unenforceability of the patents. We believe that we have meritorious defenses against the claims asserted by Sprint and intend to vigorously defend the lawsuit. We are scheduled to have a court-ordered mediation conference in the second quarter.



On October 6, 2005, a lawsuit was filed against us by Rates Technology Inc. in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Rates alleges that we have infringed two patents in connection with the least cost routing of telephone calls over the public switched telephone network. Rates seeks injunctive relief, attorney's fees, compensatory damages in excess of one billion dollars and a trebling thereof. In our answer filed on November 22, 2005, we have denied Rates' allegations and have counterclaimed for a declaration of non-infringement, invalidity and unenforceability of the patents. We believe that we have meritorious defenses against the claims asserted by Rates and intend to vigorously defend the lawsuit.



On December 6, 2005, Barry W. Thomas filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina. The plaintiff alleges that we have infringed one patent in connection with providing utility services using a pre-programmed smart card. Mr. Thomas seeks injunctive relief, compensatory and treble damages and attorney's fees in unspecified amounts. We believe that we have meritorious defenses against the claims asserted by Mr. Thomas and intend to vigorously defend the lawsuit.



Marketing. The increase in marketing expense of $187.3 million, or 334%, was primarily due to an increase in online advertising spending and our expansion to other media, such as television, that have a broader customer reach. The increase in costs relating to advertising was $152.4 million, or 81% of the total marketing expense increase. We also had increased costs of $9.9 million in telemarketing fees, $8.3 million for advertising agency fees, $2.6 million for marketing development fund fees and $3.3 million in connection with our Refer-a-Friend program. In addition, we had increased costs of $8.9 million related to our retail channel, which was launched toward the end of the second quarter of 2004 and has since grown significantly. The increased costs consist of advertisements and in-store placement fees as well as activation commissions to retailers, which increased as the number of subscribers from the retail channel increased. For 2006, we will continue to incur a significant amount of marketing costs as we pursue our growth strategy of increasing our revenue and subscriber base.



Average monthly telephony services revenue per line has decreased over time. This reflects our lowering of our residential unlimited plan prices as we realized operating efficiencies that reduced our per-customer cost of providing service. We also sought to attract a significant stream of new customers to our residential unlimited plan and migrate existing customers from our lower priced plan to this higher priced plan. The price for this plan was reduced from $39.99 per month to $34.99 per month in September 2003, to $29.99 per month in May 2004 and to $24.99 per month in October 2004.



Past SEC actions against [Vonage founder and Chief Strategy Officer] Mr. Citron and others. Prior to joining Vonage, Mr. Citron was associated with Datek Securities Corporation and Datek Online Holdings Corp., including as an employee of, and consultant for, Datek Securities and, later, as one of the principal executive officers and largest stockholders of Datek Online. Mr. Citron originally joined Datek Securities in 1989 at the age of 18 at the invitation of Sheldon Maschler (another principal executive officer and large stockholder of Datek and long-time friend of Mr. Citron's family). Datek Online, which was formed in early 1998 following a reorganization of the Datek business, was a large online brokerage firm. Datek Securities was a registered broker-dealer that engaged in a number of businesses, including proprietary trading and order execution services. During a portion of the time that Mr. Citron was associated with Datek Securities, the SEC alleged that Datek Securities, Mr. Maschler, Mr. Citron and certain other individuals participated in an extensive fraudulent scheme involving improper use of the Nasdaq Stock Market's Small Order Execution System, or SOES. In January 2003, Mr. Maschler, Mr. Citron and others entered into settlement agreements with the SEC to resolve charges that they had improperly used SOES from 1993 until early 1998, when Datek Securities' day-trading operations were sold to Heartland Securities Corporation. Mr. Maschler and others, but not Mr. Citron, were alleged to have continued such improper use until June 2001 at Heartland Securities. SOES, an automated trading system, was restricted by NASD rules to individual customers, and brokerage firms such as Datek Securities were prohibited from using SOES to trade for their own accounts. The SEC alleged that Mr. Citron and the other defendants accessed the SOES system to execute millions of unlawful proprietary trades, generating tens of millions of dollars in illegal profits. The complaint further alleged that these defendants hid their fraudulent use of the SOES system from regulators by allocating the trades to dozens of nominee accounts, creating fictitious books and records, and filing false reports with the SEC. To settle the charges, Mr. Maschler, Mr. Citron and the other individuals paid $70 million in civil penalties and disgorgements of profits, of which Mr. Citron paid $22.5 million in civil penalties. These fines were among the largest fines ever collected by the SEC against individuals. In addition, Mr. Citron was enjoined from future violations of certain provisions of the U.S. securities laws, including the antifraud provisions set forth in Section 17(a) of the Securities Act, Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 promulgated under the Exchange Act. Mr. Citron also agreed to accept an SEC order that permanently bars him from association with any securities broker or dealer. Mr. Maschler and the other individuals and corporations agreed to similar restrictions. Mr. Citron settled theses charges without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC's complaint. The SEC reached a separate settlement with Datek Securities (through its successor iCapital Markets LLC) in January 2002, which resulted in a censure and a civil penalty of $6.3 million.



Past NASD disciplinary action. In 1994, Datek Securities, Mr. Maschler, Mr. Citron and others associated with Datek Securities were the subject of an administrative complaint by the NASD for violating NASD rules governing SOES between November 1991 and February 1993. The complaint also alleged improper supervision of subordinates responsible for entry of SOES orders. Datek Securities, Mr. Citron and the other individuals settled the charges in January 1997. Pursuant to the settlement, Mr. Citron paid a fine of $20,000 and was suspended from any association (other than as a computer consultant) with Datek Securities for 20 days.



Past association with Robert E. Brennan. During the late 1990s, Mr. Citron was an acquaintance of Robert E. Brennan, having been introduced to Brennan by Mr. Maschler in 1996. In that year, Mr. Citron purchased real estate and an airplane from entities associated with Brennan. Mr. Citron also socialized with Brennan and vacationed with Brennan in early 1999. Brennan previously owned First Jersey Securities, a securities brokerage firm that ceased doing business in 1985 after civil actions were brought by the SEC. In 1995, Brennan was fined $75.0 million by the SEC for massive securities fraud, including fraud relating to penny stock sales by First Jersey Securities. Brennan also was permanently barred from the securities business and enjoined from violations of the U.S. securities laws. In 2002, Brennan was convicted of bankruptcy fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice and was sentenced to a total of 12 years in federal prison. Mr. Citron has never been implicated in any of these actions, complaints or findings against Brennan and has not had material business or personal dealings with Brennan since 1999.



In December 2005 and January 2006, we issued approximately $249,900 [in thousands] of convertible notes, and an additional $3,600 [in thousands] as the payment of interest in kind in March 2006. Originally, we believed that the convertible notes contained an embedded derivative and accordingly accounted for the embedded derivative by bifurcating the embedded derivative from the convertible notes at the date of issuance and subsequently remeasuring the fair value of the embedded derivative at December 31, 2005 and March 31, 2006. In May 2006, upon further review, we concluded that the convertible notes do not contain an embedded derivative. See "Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements." The effect of the change in our consolidated balance sheet for March 31, 2006 was to remove the embedded derivative within the convertible notes for $8,800 [in thousands] and to remove the unamortized discount related to embedded derivatives which increased the outstanding amount of the convertible notes by $21,161 [in thousands]. The convertible notes also decreased by $212 [in thousands] for the beneficial conversion feature. The effect of the change in our consolidated income statement for the three months ended March 31, 2006 was to remove the income attributable to the change in the fair value of embedded derivatives within the convertible notes for $13,392 [in thousands] and reduce interest expense by $1,029 [in thousands] to remove amortization of discount related to embedded derivatives. This change increased the basic and diluted net loss per common share by $(8.77) to $(60.40) from $(51.63) and by $(0.10) to $(0.68) from $(0.58) on a pro forma basis. The impact to the December 31, 2005 consolidated financial statements for these changes was not considered material and accordingly only reclassifications were required.



In the future we will have to continue paying quarterly interest on our convertible notes. We may pay this interest in cash or in kind by increasing the principal amount outstanding under the convertible notes. In March 2006, we paid interest in kind of $3.6 million. We will not elect to pay interest in cash on these convertible notes unless we have adequate cash available.



Convertible Notes. In December 2005 and January 2006, the Company issued $249,900 aggregate principal amount of convertible notes due December 1, 2010 (the "Notes"). The Company plans to use the proceeds from the offering of the Notes to fund the expansion of its business and other working capital requirements.



The holders may require the Company to repurchase all or any portion of the Notes on December 16, 2008 at a price in cash equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes plus any accrued and unpaid interest and late charges.



The Company may, at its option, pay interest on the Notes in cash or in kind. If paid in cash, interest will accrue at a rate of 5% per annum and be payable quarterly in arrears. If paid in kind, the interest will accrue at a rate of 7% per annum and be payable quarterly in arrears. Interest paid in kind will increase the principal amount outstanding and will thereafter accrue interest during each period. The first interest payment was made on March 1, 2006. The Company elected to pay this interest in kind in the amount of $3,645.



For the Notes issued in December 2005 and January 2006, the conversion price equaled the fair market value of the underlying Common Stock. As such, there was no beneficial conversion feature for those issuances. For the Notes issued on March 1, 2006 for the payment of interest in kind, the fair market value of the underlying Common Stock exceeded the conversion price. Accordingly, we recorded the intrinsic value of the beneficial conversion feature on 256 shares in the amount of $214 as a discount to the Notes with an offsetting amount increasing additional paid-in-capital in March 2006. This beneficial conversion feature will be amortized over the remaining life of the Notes to interest expense using the effective interest method. The amortization for the three months ended March 31, 2006 was $2.



Upon an event of default, the interest rate will be the greater of the interest rate then in effect or 15% per annum. If interest on the Notes is not paid in full on any interest payment date, the principal amount of the Notes will be increased for subsequent interest accrual periods by an amount that reflects the accretion of the unpaid interest at an annual rate equal to the interest rate then in effect plus 2%, calculated on a quarterly basis, from, and including, the first day of the relevant interest accrual period. If a registration statement relating to a Qualified IPO (as defined below) has not been declared effective by the SEC prior to December 16, 2006, there will be a 1% coupon step-up, and if the Company has not consummated a Qualified IPO prior to December 16, 2007, the coupon will become the greater of the rate then in effect and 10%.



The Company also may redeem any or all of the Notes at any time after December 16, 2008 at a price equal to 100% of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest and any late charges, subject to certain conditions.



Following a change of control (as defined in the Notes) the holders of the Notes may require the Company to redeem the Notes at a price equal to 100% of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest and late charges. In addition, upon conversions in connection with certain transactions, including certain changes of control, holders of the Notes will be entitled to receive a make-whole premium as calculated in the Notes.



The Notes may, at the option of the holder, be converted into shares of Common Stock at any time. Prior to the completion of the Company's initial public offering, the conversion price for the Notes will be $14.22, subject to certain adjustments for stock dividends, stock splits or similar transactions and to downward adjustment in the event that a registration statement relating to a Qualified IPO is not filed on a timely basis or not declared effective by the SEC prior to December 16, 2006. Immediately following the completion of the Company's initial public offering, the conversion price will be the lesser of (1) the conversion price in effect immediately prior to the completion of the initial public offering and (2) 90% of the initial public offering price of the Common Stock, subject to certain minimum conversion prices. The conversion price also is subject to certain customary anti-dilution adjustments.



Following an event of default, the Notes will become due and payable, either automatically or upon declaration by holders of more than 25% of the aggregate principal amount of Notes.



The Company has agreed to file resale shelf registration statements covering the shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of the Notes within 90 calendar days after the initial public offering and use reasonable best efforts to have such registration statement be declared effective within 180 calendar days after the initial public offering. The Company will pay the holders of the Notes a fee of 1% of the principal amount of the Notes on the day that this timetable has not been met and a fee of 2% of the principal amount of the Notes every 30th day thereafter until the failure is cured.



[Editor's note: The S-1 says Bain Capital owns 12,050,662 shares of stock, or 8 percent of the company after the IPO. What we couldn't exactly figure out is who exactly holds these shares -- see following footnote.]

(Footnote (2)): Shares include (i) 1,747,634 shares upon conversion of preferred stock owned by Bain Capital Venture Fund 2005, L.P. ("Bain Venture Fund"), whose sole general partner is Bain Capital Venture Partners 2005, L.P. ("BCVP"), whose sole general partner is Bain Capital Venture Investors, LLC ("BCVI"), (ii) 247,371 shares issuable upon conversion of preferred stock owned by BCIP Associates III, LLC ("BCIP III"), whose manager is BCIP Associates III, whose sole managing general partner is Bain Capital Investors, LLC ("BCI") and whose attorney-in-fact with respect to such shares is BCVI, (iii) 6,642 shares issuable upon conversion of preferred stock owned by BCIP Associates III-B, LLC ("BCIP III-B," and together with BCIP III, the "BCIP Entities"), whose manager is BCIP Associates III-B, whose sole managing partner is BCI and whose attorney-in-fact with respect to such shares is BCVI, (iv) (a) 5,391,648 shares issuable upon conversion of preferred stock, and (b) 356,644 shares issuable upon conversion of convertible notes owned by Brookside Capital Partners Fund, L.P. ("Brookside Fund"), whose sole general partner is Brookside Capital Investors, L.P. ("Brookside Investors"), whose sole general partner is Brookside Capital Management, LLC ("Brookside Management"), (v) (a) 673,957 shares issuable upon conversion of preferred stock, and (b) 241,091 shares issuable upon conversion of convertible notes owned by Sankaty Credit Opportunities, L.P. ("SCO"), whose sole general partner is Sankaty Credit Opportunities Investors, LLC ("SCI"), whose managing member is Sankaty Credit Member, LLC ("SCM"), (vi) (a) 1,752,285 shares issuable upon conversion of preferred stock, and (b) 505,009 shares issuable upon conversion of convertible notes owned by Sankaty Credit Opportunities II, L.P. ("SCO II"), whose sole general partner is Sankaty Credit Opportunities Investors II, LLC ("SCI II"), whose managing member is SCM, (vii) (a) 269,582 shares issuable upon conversion of preferred stock, and (b) 472,197 shares issuable upon conversion of convertible notes owned by Prospect Harbor Credit Partners, L.P. ("PH"), whose sole general partner is Prospect Harbor Investors, LLC ("PHI"), whose managing member is SCM; (viii) 235,385 shares issuable upon conversion of convertible notes owned by Sankaty High Yield Partners II, L.P., whose sole general partner is Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors II, LLC ("SHYA II"), whose sole managing member is Sankaty Investors II, LLC ("SI II"); and (ix) 151,217 shares issuable upon conversion of convertible notes owned by Sankaty High Yield Partners III, L.P, whose sole general partner is Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors III, LLC ("SYHA III"), whose sole managing member is Sankaty Investors III, LLC ("SI III"). Michael A. Krupka is the sole managing member of BCVI. Domenic Ferrante is the managing member of Brookside Management. Jonathan S. Lavine is the managing member of each of SCM, SI II and SI III. Each of Mr. Krupka, Mr. Ferrante and Mr. Lavine is (a) a limited partner of each of BCVP and Brookside Investors, (b) a member of BCI, BCVI, Brookside Management, SCI, SCI II, SCM, PHI, SHYA II, SHYA III, SI II and SI III, and (c) a general partner of BCIP Associates III. Mr. Krupka, Mr. Ferrante and Mr. Lavine, and the entities listed above other than record holders of the shares listed above may each be deemed to share voting and dispositive power with respect to these shares, but each disclaims beneficial ownership of such shares except to the extent of their pecuniary interests therein. The address of each listed entity and individual is 111 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02199.



Business Travel on Aircraft Owned by New World Aviation, Inc. Certain of our employees have traveled for business on aircraft owned by New World Aviation, Inc., a corporation wholly owned by Mr. Citron and his wife. In 2004 and 2005, we paid New World Aviation $0.2 million and $0.1 million, respectively, for travel by our employees, including Mr. Citron. Mr. Citron's employment agreement provides that, with respect to reasonable business-related airline expenses, Mr. Citron will be eligible for air travel reimbursement based on the cost of a first-class ticket on a commercial airline ...



Purchase of Routers from Force10 Networks, Inc. We purchase routers from Force10 Networks, Inc. on an as-needed basis. In 2004 and 2005, we paid Force10 Networks $0 and $1.1 million, respectively, under the contract. Affiliates of New Enterprise Associates, a holder of more than 5% of our voting capital stock, own an approximate 24% interest in Force10 Networks. In addition, an affiliate of Meritech Capital Partners II L.P., also a holder of more than 5% of our voting capital stock, owns a 6.8% interest in Force10 Networks. An employee of Meritech Capital Partners and an employee of New Enterprise Associates serve on the board of directors of Force10 Networks.



On April 17, 2002, we borrowed $2.0 million from Mr. Citron pursuant to a loan agreement. The loan was due on April 17, 2003 with interest payable at a rate of 8% per annum. In addition, a warrant exercisable to purchase approximately 1.4 million shares of our common stock at an exercise price of $0.25 per share was granted to Mr. Citron. During July 2002, the loan was converted into Series A Preferred Stock. On four dates between January and July 2003, we borrowed an aggregate of $20.0 million from Mr. Citron pursuant to loan agreements. The loans were due in July and September 2003 with interest payable at a rate of 8% per annum. In addition, Mr. Citron was granted five-year warrants to purchase an aggregate of $3.6 million value of Series A-2 Preferred Stock at the strike price equal to the stock price paid by Series B Preferred Stock investors. During September 2003, the loans were converted into Series A-2 Preferred Stock. For more information, see Note 8 to our consolidated financial statements.— R. Scott Raynovich, US Editor, Light Reading

Subscribe and receive the latest news from the industry.
Join 62,000+ members. Yes it's completely free.

You May Also Like