PointCast Drops Plans for Public Offering

PointCast Inc., the company that pioneered so-called “push” technology that broadcasts news and other information to computer screens, said it has abandoned plans for an initial public offering and has begun talks with a potential corporate buyer. The Sunnyvale-based company, which announced plans to go public in May, said it had withdrawn its registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an IPO. The statement put an end to months of periodic rumors that PointCast was being shopped around. Adding fuel to those rumors, Walt Disney Co. recently said it would buy a minority stake in Internet directory Infoseek Corp. PointCast Chairman David Dorman said the company was obliged to request the withdrawal of its Form S-1 statement with the SEC in order to hold partnership discussions without facing legal constraints. Without identifying any suitors, Dorman said, “I think it could be a big media company.”