Newsmax is continuing to plug the heck out of its initial public stock offering. The apparently uniroinically named Charlie McCarthy did uncritical stenography for his boss in an Oct. 18 article:
Newsmax’s planned initial public offering (IPO) is still on track — and the recent YouTube TV agreement will only help propel the network’s growth, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy said.
Ruddy, appearing on “Rob Schmitt Tonight” on Wednesday, said Newsmax has produced impressive ratings – especially compared to CNN, despite the fact his network had been in significantly less cable homes.
But the Youtube TV deal — putting Newsmax on their basic plan and boosting its overall reach to almost 60 million cable homes — changes that equation.
[…]Ruddy said Newsmax has been helped by millions of viewers who are “voting with their remote controls” in favor of the network.
“They’re telling these cable operators they want Newsmax, they want your show,” Ruddy told Schmitt.
“Our ratings are up and we’re the only cable network with ratings up in double digits across every day, part year over year,” Ruddy said. “That’s an amazing feat.”
You can rest assured that Schmitt didn’t ask his boss any questions that didn’t serve the purpose of promoting the IPO.
The guy managing the IPO appeared on Newsmax TV with more rah-rah, as dutifully transcribed in a Dec. 28 article by Sandy Fitzgerald:
Viewers and investors are showing powerful support for new media like Newsmax with the company raising $140 million before its planned public offering, Mark Elenowitz of Digital Offering LLC, said this week.
“I’ve been doing this for almost 34 years and we have not seen the demand as we’ve seen with Newsmax and I think it really speaks to the audience and the viewers and the supporters,” Elenowitz told Newsmax’s “American Agenda,” earlier this week.
Elenowitz is managing director of the Digital Offering, the bank handling Newsmax’s private share raise being completed before its expected IPO in early 2025, subject to SEC approval.
“We’ve had now over 80,000 investors indicate either to be a part of the public offering or be part of the private placement, so that dedication truly shows the support of what Newsmax is trying to do for the media,” he said.
Fitzgerald wrote another Dec. 28 article further touting Elenowitz’s pontifications:
Mark Elenowitz, managing director for Digital Offering LLC, Saturday urged investors interested in the private placement offering for Newsmax to act now, as the early offer will close when investments reach the $150 million mark.
“The amount of interest is nothing that we’ve ever seen,” Elenowitz told Newsmax’s “Saturday Report.” “We have over 85,000 investors that have indicated to either be a part of the private placement or be a part of the upcoming public offering.”
That shows that viewers now have an opportunity to become shareholders, with qualified buyers being able to participate in the private placement offering before Newsmax goes public, he said.
And, of course, a couple articles trying to create a sense of urgency for potential investors:
- Banker: Newsmax Raised $135 Million in Pre-IPO Plan, Offer to Close Soon
- Banker: Newsmax Raises $140 Million, Offering Closes Soon!
- NEW: Newsmax Raises $145 Million in Pre-IPO Plan
- Newsmax Raises $150 Million in Pre-IPO Plan
A “message from Chris Ruddy, CEO” this week did even more of this:
Dear Investor:
Success breeds success.
As you know around New Year’s Newsmax hit the $185 million* mark for its planned pre-Public Offering raise and before its expected public listing.
Some good news: the company is extending this raise to $225 million — leaving just $40 million left!
We are planning to make our final public filing with the SEC and expect to be public in just weeks, if approved.
Please apply or complete your share process by our deadline of Friday, January 31, 2025!
We have thousands of investors still in process. They can still make an investment and join with us.
Many have already indicated they plan to invest.
This means if you want to invest you need to do so now.
What Ruddy and crew don’t want to discuss, however, is the impact of the legal settlement with Smartmatic over defamation claims — and the potential impact of a similar lawsuit by Dominion — on Newsmax’s business. Buried in its IPO literature, but not otherwise noted in the FAQ on its IPO, is a statement that the otherwise confidential settlement will include “a cash amount payable over time.”
A Jan. 27 article by Fitzgerald hyped the IPO with Elenowitz again — with a new deadline: “Beat the deadline of COB Friday, Jan. 31, find out about Newsmax’s shares!”