Jupitermedia
Yes, Jupitermedia has been left standing at the altar in its pursuit of the perfect kiss before. The company's lucrative licensed images business -- where subscribers have access to more than 7 million royalty-free images -- found it in talks to be acquired by niche leader Getty Images
Moving on, MediaBistro fits right into the company's career-driven websites. Jupitermedia already watches over information technology hubs Internet.com and EarthWeb. Techies congregate at its DevX.com home for Web developers, while Graphics.com feeds right into its eye candy forte.
Delivering 400 million monthly page views through a network of 150 websites, Jupitermedia knows how to draw a crowd. Now all it needs to do is find a way to grow its bottom line. Earnings are expected to dip this year, but at least it's still profitable.
Let's not rule out an exit strategy, either. The company's acquisitive appetite hints at a company ready to grow as a stand-alone entity. However, its stock is trading lower than where it was when it was in talks with Getty earlier this year. Jupitermedia may be more attractive now.
I also believe that Jupitermedia's several moving parts would fit right in with a company like CNET Networks
As long as the company doesn't plan on dropping any bombshells during next month's second-quarter report, there appears to be more upside than downside in Jupitermedia at today's prices. With a logical list of suitors likely to nibble if Jupitermedia falls much further and the potential of improvement in its fundamentals on its own, it's as close to a win-win as you can find in today's market, where finding values is as challenging as planting that perfect kiss.
Some other snapshots worth taking a peek at:
- Jupitermedia became an image-pitching force three years ago.
- Jupitermedia was looking pretty as a picture two years ago.
- It didn't look so fetching back in March when it delayed its quarterly results, as buyout talks broke off.
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Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz isn't photogenic enough to wonder if his likeness is available in royalty-free form. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. He is part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
