This Day In Market History: The First Internet Search Engine IPO
Each day, Benzinga takes a look back at a notable market-related moment that occurred on this date.
What Happened?
On this day 22 years ago, Open Text Corp (USA) (NASDAQ: OTEX) became the first internet search engine company to go public.
Where Was The Market?
The S&P 500 was trading at 635.84 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 5373.99.
What Else Was Going On In The World?
In 1996, a Mad Cow Disease epidemic in the U.K. resulted in the mass slaughter of entire herds of cows. The number of global internet users reached 10 million. The minimum hourly wage in the U.S. was raised to $5.15 per hour.
The Beginning Of Something Big
Investors today know Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) and its Google search engine as the dominant force in internet search and advertising. However, more than eight years before Google went public in 2004, there wasn’t a single internet search company trading on a major U.S. exchange.
Open Text changed that story when it held its IPO in February 1996. Open Text led the charge of search engine IPOs and was followed by Lycos, Excite and Yahoo within four months time.
Compared to the other search engine stocks of the Dot Com Bubble, (notably Yahoo) Open Text’s run-up was relatively modest. The company’s market cap peaked at just around $1.3 billion in early 2000 before crashing back down to around $400 million later in the year.
Open Text still trades on the Nasdaq to this day. The company now develops and sells enterprise information management software.
Related Links:
This Day In Market History: Alphabet Briefly Becomes World's Most Valuable Company
How Often Is Your Stock Being Searched For Online?
See more from Benzinga
© 2018 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
