Cidera Drops IPO Plan; It Raised More In Private Market

Cidera Inc., the satellite-based, Internet broadcast delivery company, has withdrawn its applications to the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $57.5 million through an IPO.

It is done much better with venture capital. Cidera raised $75 million in venture capital during the third quarter of the year.

Now it has identified the investors in the most recent round and said that it has withdrawn its registration application to the SEC. With the stock market’s current aversion to technology stocks generally and specifically to anything related to the Internet, an IPO at this point clearly was less attractive than raising financing privately.

Cidera’s new investors include: Berger Funds, Grupo Pegaso of Mexico, meVC Draper Fisher Jurvetson Fund 1 [MVC], Munder NetNet Fund, National Investors Group (a subsidiary of the National Bank of Kuwait), Rare Medium Group Inc. [RRRR], Trans Cosmos of Japan and Wheatley Partners.

Also taking part in the most recent round of investment were Cidera’s previous investors, including: The Carlyle Group of Washington, D.C., the GE Equity unit of General Electric Co. [GE], Investor AB of Sweden, the MCI Worldcom Venture Fund of MCI Worldcom [WCOM], New Enterprise Associates and others. Cidera is based in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Laurel, Md.