Proving that you don’t have to be a big player to go public, Littleton, MA-based equestrian products marketer Dover Saddlery is filing an initial public offering (IPO). A date for the IPO hasn’t been set, but the stock will trade on the Nasdaq exchange under the symbol DOVR. The company hopes to raise $40 million, according to documents filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC documents state that Dover Saddlery earned $1.9 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2004, a 46% increase from $1.3 million in net income for 2003. Revenue from its direct business, which makes up the lion’s share of total company sales, increased 10% to $52.2 million, compared with $47.3 million last year. Dover mailed 5.4 million catalogs in 2004, slightly less than the 5.8 million in mailed in 2003.
Dover Saddlery, which was founded in 1975 by Jim and David Powers, sells riding and horse-care products through its catalogs and three stores under the Dover Saddlery name and one store under the Smith Brothers name. The company has earmarked the IPO proceeds for retail openings in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.