Internet Brands, the online media, e-commerce and community holding company based in El Segundo, CA, has filed for a $100 million IPO on Nasdaq. The full S-1 document is here.
The company was founded in 1998 as CarsDirect.com and, reflecting its growth and diversification, changed its name in 2005…it is a subsidiary of Idealab. Credit Suisse and Thomas Weisel Partners are underwriting the IPO, though no other details on number of shares or pricing was disclosed yet. It also did not reveal a symbol for its listed stock, which is a bit unusual.

The company recently bought ApartmentRatings.com and the bulletin board software service vBulletin.

The company had revenues of $85 million in 2006..its Q107 revenues declined to $19.1 million, compared to $21.9 million in Q106, “primarily as a result of a sequential decline in revenues in the consumer Internet segment over the last five quarters…In particular, our automobile-related websites have experienced significant revenue declines in recent periods,” says its S-1.

Also, the company is built on vertical acquisitions: “In the first six months of 2007, we have acquired 29 websites.” Investors include Idealab 9largest shareholder), Foundation Capital, Clearstone Venture Partners and others.