ATLANTA (AP) -- AutoTrader Group Inc. filed a plan Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a possible initial public offering of shares.
The online automotive sales and service company has not determined how many shares it will sell or in what price range.
The Atlanta-based company operates the largest digital automotive marketplace in the U.S. at Autotrader.com. AutoTrader estimates that it reaches 60 percent of people shopping online for a car. It recently bought the well-regarded car valuation company Kelly Blue Book, and it provides software that helps dealers manage their inventory.
Cox Enterprises Inc. formed the company in 1997 and sold a 25 percent stake in it to affiliates of Providence Equity Partners LLC in 2010.
AutoTrader said its revenue has grown from $1 million in 1998 to more than $1 billion 2011. It told the SEC that, for 2011, it earned $68.1 million. The company plans to use the proceeds from its offering to repay debt and make acquisitions and for general corporate purposes.
The book-running managers of the proposed offering would be Goldman Sachs & Co. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC.
