Exult Inc. Seeks to Raise $200 Million in IPO

Emboldened by its ability to raise cash and its one major client, 16-month-old Exult Inc. plans to go public with an initial offering that would raise as much as $200 million, according to a document filed Monday with federal regulators.

The Irvine Web-based personnel management company plans to use proceeds from the offering for working capital and other general corporate purposes, such as expanding the firm’s client service centers, acquiring other firms and repaying outstanding debts.

The company did not provide any price per share of its initial public offering, nor state when the offering might be sold, according to its first document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company also said it expects the shares to be quoted on Nasdaq under the symbol EXLT.

Its only customer so far is BP Amoco, which is turning over its human resources services to Exult as part of its plan to farm out that operation. The 5-year contract is valued at $600 million.

Exult, which handles BP Amoco’s U.S. and British needs, expects to take over the oil firm’s personnel services for 82,000 employees worldwide by the end of the year.

Exult will use the Internet to allow BP Amoco employees to handle a multitude of tasks, from checking in-house job opportunities to changing benefits.

Though Exult is new, its executives have long histories in human resources. Its founder, James Madden, was president of MCI’s $2-billion outsourcing unit. Vice president Barbara Williams helped manage human resources for Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

Exult was financed initially with $50 million from fund-management company General Atlantic Partners. It sold $60 million in preferred stock in a private placement to venture capital and investment companies like Mellon Ventures, Goldman Sachs and DB Capital Partners. Altogether, it has raised $125 million in private financing.