User-generated content & “content farms” have a spotlight on them now thanks mostly to Demand Media’s recent IPO. Few people knew how the IPO would go, considering Demand Media has never turned a profit and will not likely do so for quite some time. Many who understood search, were also worried that a simple change in Google’s algorithm could severely damage the company.

Demand Media IPO & Ticker Symbol

Demand Media’s stock ticker is DMD and it is listed on the NYSE. The IPO offering was 8.9 million shares. Demand sold 4.5 million shares at $17 per share and existing shareholders sold another 4.4 million. Overall, Demand should see about $67 million from the sale.

After the first day on the market, DMD shares ended at $22.65, netting an immediate 33% return for those who were part of the IPO purchase.

Demand’s Valuation Higher then the NYT

Crazy that Demand Media is now valued at $1.5 billion, making it bigger then the New York Times. The New York Times is an old media company that produce high quality content. Demand Media is a new, sophisticated, publisher that harnesses user-generated content (for pay), but often puts out low quality content.

Demand Media’s IPO is the largest internet-related IPO since Google’s in 2004. This will certainly shine a spotlight on Internet content creation, content farms, and user-generated content. Should be fun to watch!