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PROSPECTUS
2,011,051 SHARES
PC QUOTE, INC.
COMMON STOCK, $.001 PAR VALUE
_________________
This Prospectus relates to an aggregate of 2,011,051 shares (the
"Shares") of Common Stock, par value $.001 per share (the "Common Stock"), of
PC Quote, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Company"), that may be sold from
time to time by the shareholders named herein (the "Selling Shareholders").
See "Selling Shareholders." The Company will not receive any proceeds from
the sale of the Shares. The Company has agreed to pay the expenses of
registration of the Shares, including certain legal and accounting fees.
The Common Stock is traded on the American Stock Exchange under the
symbol "PQT." On March 31, 1998, the closing market price of the Common
Stock on the American Stock Exchange was $0.6875 per share.
The Selling Shareholders may sell, from time to time, in one or more
transactions (which may include block transactions), all or a portion of
their Shares on the American Stock Exchange, in special offerings, in the
over-the-counter market, in negotiated transactions, through underwriters or
otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale or at negotiated
prices. If any of the Common Stock offered hereby is sold through
underwriters, brokers or dealers, the Selling Shareholders may pay customary
underwriting discounts and brokerage commissions and charges. The Selling
Shareholders and any underwriters, brokers or dealers or other persons who
participate with them in the distribution of the shares offered hereby may be
deemed to be "underwriters" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended (the "Securities Act"), although the Selling Shareholders disclaim
such status. Any commission and discounts received by such underwriters,
brokers or dealers, and any profit on the resale of the stock by such
underwriters, brokers or dealers, may be deemed to be underwriting discounts
and commissions under the Securities Act. The shares of Common Stock being
offered hereby may also be sold by the Selling Shareholders pursuant to Rule
144 promulgated under the Securities Act. See "Plan of Distribution."
The Shares offered hereby have not been registered under the blue sky or
securities laws of any jurisdiction, and any broker or dealer should assure
the existence of an exemption from registration or effectuate such
registration in connection with the offer and sale of the Shares.
_________________
FOR INFORMATION CONCERNING CERTAIN FACTORS RELATING TO THIS OFFERING,
SEE "RISK FACTORS" SECTION OF THIS PROSPECTUS.
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THESE SECURITIES HAVE NOT BEEN APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED BY THE SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION OR ANY STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION NOR HAS THE
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION OR ANY STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION PASSED
UPON THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE
CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
_________________
The date of this Prospectus is April 24, 1998.
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AVAILABLE INFORMATION
The Company is subject to the informational requirements of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and in
accordance therewith files reports, proxy statements and other information
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission"). Such
reports, proxy statements and other information filed by the Company can be
inspected and copied at the public reference facilities of the Commission at
450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20549, and at the Commission's
Regional Offices at 7 World Trade Center, Suite 1300, New York, New York
10048 and CitiCorp Center, 500 West Madison Street, Suite 1400, Chicago,
Illinois 60661. Copies of such materials can be obtained from the Public
Reference Section of the Commission at 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, DC
20549, at prescribed rates. The Commission also maintains a World Wide Web
site which provides on-line access to reports, proxy and information
statements and other information regarding registrants that file
electronically with the Commission at the address "http://www.sec.gov." In
addition, the Common Stock of PC Quote, Inc. is listed on the American Stock
Exchange, and reports, proxy statements and other information concerning the
Company can also be inspected at the offices of the American Stock Exchange,
86 Trinity Place, New York, New York 10006.
The Company has filed with the Commission a Registration Statement on
Form S-3 (herein, together with all exhibits, referred to as the
"Registration Statement") under the Securities Act with respect to the Common
Stock being offered by this Prospectus. This Prospectus does not contain all
of the information set forth in the Registration Statement, certain parts of
which are omitted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the
Commission. For further information, reference is hereby made to the
Registration Statement, which may be inspected and copied in the manner and
at the sources described above.
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The following documents of the Company which have been filed with the
Commission are hereby incorporated by reference in this Prospectus:
(a) the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 1997;
(b) the Company's Current Reports on Form 8-K dated July 16, 1997, as
amended on August 26, 1997; and
(c) the description of the Company's Common Stock contained in the
Company's Registration Statement filed under Section 12 of the
Exchange Act and any amendment or report filed for the purpose
of updating any such description.
All documents filed by the Company pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or
15(d) of the Exchange Act subsequent to the date of this Prospectus and prior to
the termination of the offering of the Common Stock shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference into this
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Prospectus and to be a part hereof from the respective dates of filing of
such documents. Any statement contained herein or in a document all or part
of which is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein
shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Prospectus
to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any subsequently filed
document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein
modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or
superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to
constitute a part of this Prospectus.
The Company will provide without charge to any person to whom this
Prospectus is delivered, upon the written or oral request of such person, a
copy of any or all of the foregoing documents incorporated herein by
reference (other than certain exhibits to such documents). Requests for such
copies should be directed to the Company's principal office: PC Quote, Inc.,
300 South Wacker Drive, Suite 300, Chicago, Illinois 60606, Attn: John
Juska, Tel. No. (312) 913-2800.
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THE COMPANY
GENERAL DEVELOPMENT OF BUSINESS
PC Quote, Inc. (the "Company" or the "Registrant") was incorporated in
the State of Illinois on June 23, 1980 as On-Line Response, Inc. and was
incorporated in Delaware on August 12, 1987. The Company provides real-time
and delayed securities quotations and news to professional and consumer
markets worldwide. Professional clients include brokerage firms, banks,
insurance companies, fund managers, institutional and professional traders.
The Company has expanded its service offerings to the individual investor,
application developers and businesses by offering its products through the
Internet. The Company's "web site" offers non-fee delayed quotes to all
visitors and real time subscription market data services to fee-based
subscribers.
The Company generates revenue from its securities quotations services,
individual investor subscriptions, Internet business services, software and
web site development services, OEM and redistributor services, and from
advertising sold on its web site. The Company classifies its data services
into two categories: real-time satellite broadcast or dedicated landline for
professional trading desktops and networks; and Internet services for
individual investors, developers, corporations and financial institutions.
The Company's executive offices are located in Chicago, Illinois. The
Company also maintains sales offices in New York, Dallas and Chicago.
GENERAL
The Company maintains a real-time database of last sale and bid/ask
prices of more than 250,000 issues that contains the most comprehensive
options data and has also been optimized for Level 2 NASDAQ market-maker
quotes. The database includes all North American equities and options, major
stock indices, Level 1 NASDAQ-quoted stocks, Level 2 NASDAQ market-maker
quotes, mutual funds, money market funds, futures contracts and options on
futures contracts. Also covered are exchange-traded issues from Europe and
Asia. The Company creates its database by gathering ticker and news feeds
from stock, options and commodities exchanges and other sources and
processing such information into a single data feed. The Company's primary
processing plant is located in its executive offices in Chicago, Illinois.
PC Quote software applications, running on the customer's computer,
process the data stream to allow the user to monitor securities on an
on-going real-time basis. They also create in the user's computer a complete
database of trading symbols, continuously updated by the data stream. This
database gives the user instant access to security prices. The same data
stream is used to create an equivalent database on the Company's computers,
accessible to its customers via the Internet.
The following is a description of the principal products and services
marketed by Company.
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PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
HYPERFEED-TM-
HyperFeed, the cornerstone of the services provided by the Company, is
the Registrant's digital real-time market data feed. It is broadcast at 1024
kilobytes per second and 112 kilobytes per second and contains all North
American stock, options, and commodity exchange, in addition to international
exchange, issues. HyperFeed also carries:
- Dynamic Nasdaq Level II market maker quotes;
- Dow Jones Composite News Service (up to 90-day retrieval of nine wires
"Broadtape", Professional Investor Report, Capital Markets Report,
International News Wire, World Equities Report, European Corporate
Report, Electronic Wall Street Journal, International Petroleum
Reports, Federal Filings);
- Multiple levels of fundamental data;
- Fixed income pricing; and
- Other types of fixed and dynamic financial data.
HyperFeed underlies all of the Registrant's other products and services,
which capitalize on HyperFeed to access, view and utilize data in a variety
of ways. To produce and transmit HyperFeed, PC Quote uses multiple
redundant, high-speed data circuits to gather ticker and news feeds from
securities exchanges and other sources. At the Registrant's production
center in Chicago, these feeds are directed into multiple redundant dynamic
real-time databases from which HyperFeed is generated.
HyperFeed is transmitted to customer sites either over a satellite
communications network or by dedicated digital data circuits. At the
customer site HyperFeed is received by a Quote Server, an industry standard
PC which creates and maintains databases of real-time news and fundamental
information.
The Quote Server can reside on a local area network, where the data it
maintains is accessible to software applications running on workstations on a
network, or it can function as a stand-alone unit, in which case its data is
available to software applications running on the Quote Server itself. In
both instances the software applications accessing the data may be supplied
by the Registrant, by third parties, or by the customer themself.
Third party or customer supplied software utilize the Registrant's
high-performance application program interfaces (APIs) to access the Quote
Server's data. In this way the Quote Server can supply data for virtually
any purpose, including proprietary order execution systems, analytical
modeling, internal risk management, order matching, or redistribution via
on-line systems, the Internet, or wide area networks. Third party developers
and customers using the APIs for their own development pay a monthly fee for
the interfaces, in addition to
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monthly HyperFeed licensing fees and per-user or per-unit charges once the
application is ready for distribution or redistribution.
The Registrant also maintains Internet Quote Servers at its facility.
These Quote Servers function just like any other Quote Servers, supporting
applications developed by the Registrant, or by third parties or customers
using Internet-enabled versions of the Registrant's APIs. In this way the
Registrant and its customers are able to benefit from the Internet's
substantially lower costs for service, communications and startup, its ease
of access, and its worldwide availability.
SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS AND SERVICES MARKETED BY REGISTRANT
To complement the Hyperfeed database, the Company has several high-end
applications and programming tools which it licenses to Hyperfeed subscribers.
PC Quote 6.0 for Windows is a comprehensive suite of real-time
professional trading tools. Running under Microsoft-TM- Windows-TM- 3.1 or
Windows-TM- 95, or Windows NT-TM-, PC Quote 6.0 offers unlimited quote pages,
charting, technical analysis, searchable news, time of sale and quote, Nasdaq
Level II market maker screens, options analytical tools, dynamic data
exchange into Microsoft-TM- Excel-TM-, tickers, alerts, baskets and more.
PC Quote 6.0 can be fed by Quote Servers on the customer's local area
network or through a connection to the Internet. Monthly fees for Internet
service are lower than fees for local area network service; this makes PC
Quote 6.0 more affordable around the world for individual investors and
affords a wide range of options for the professional marketplace. The
software application for PC Quote 6.0 is licensed from an unaffiliated third
party pursuant to a Software Distributor Agreement.
Quote Server with Quote Tools - custom applications using robust and
easy-to-use APIs, the Quote Tools enable a customer to build anything from
real-time trading desktop interfaces to Web Sites with portfolio management
and the latest in Internet push technology. The Quote Server APIs are unique
in that they give a complete suite of programming interfaces, from Visual
Basic to CGI to C++ for all levels of programming in all environments.
In 1995 the Company established an Internet web site, and MarketSmart,
offering free delayed quotes and other information to all visitors.
Commencing in 1996 and continuing to build throughout 1997, the Company
generated revenue by selling advertising on its web site's free quote pages
and MarketSmart, providing market information for other web sites, offering
development tools for Internet-based applications, and forming strategic
relationships with other major Internet players. The Company's expanded web
site now offers, in addition to links to unlimited free delayed quote
information, subscription fee real-time quote information, corporate profiles
and press releases, information about PC Quote's products and services and
paths for learning about and signing up for subscription services available
on the site.
The Company's Internet Business Services provide custom and template
web-site services and software development services--from basic tools to
complete turnkey
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installations--to software vendors, financial institutions, corporations, and
Internet content providers. All of the Company's Internet services,
including the web site, advertising, PC Quote 6.0 on the Internet, and Quote
Tools, can be wholesaled, private labeled, cloned or customized to meet a
customer's specific needs.
The Company has become a quote service for the major office applications
companies. In Microsoft Excel's new 1997 version, Web Query technology
features the ability to access data from PC Quote. In February 1997 Lotus
development Corporation also featured PC Quote's data as the "in the box"
feature for its SmartSuite application.
PATENTS, TRADEMARKS AND LICENSES
The Company does not have patent or federal copyright protection for its
proprietary software products. Although applicable software is readily
duplicated illegally by anyone having access to appropriate hardware, the
Company attempts to protect its proprietary software through license
agreements with customers and common law trade secret protection and
non-disclosure contract provisions in its agreements with its employees. The
Company uses security measures, including a hardware key, which restricts
access to its on-line services unless proper password identification from a
PC Quote user is provided. As an additional safeguard, the Company provides
only the object code on its diskette and retains the source code.
The following products are registered trademarks:
BasketMaker-Registered Trademark-, QuoteWare-Registered Trademark-,
PriceWare-Registered Trademark- and QuoteBlaster-Registered Trademark-. The
HyperFeed-TM- product is a servicemark of the Company.
COMPETITION
The market for the on-line provision of financial information such as
equities, commodities, futures and options quotations and news through
services and software applications similar to those the Company provides
includes a large number of competitors and is subject to rapid change. The
Company believes its primary competitors include Automatic Data Processing,
the Telerate unit of Dow Jones & Co., Bloomberg, the Comstock unit of
Standard & Poors, the ILX unit of Thomson Corporation, Telesphere Global
Ticker, Reuters, Quote.com and Data Broadcasting Corporation. Many of these
competitors have significantly greater financial, technical and marketing
resources and greater name recognition than the Company.
SEASONALITY
The Company has not experienced any material seasonal fluctuations in
its business. Barring any prolonged period of investor inactivity in trading
securities, the Company does not believe that seasonality is material to its
business activities.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
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The Company's systems development personnel expend their time and effort
developing new software programs and high-speed data delivery systems and
expanding or enhancing existing ones. Development efforts focus on providing
a solution to the informational and analytical needs of both the professional
and private investors. Development activity has increased with the
implementation of high-level design and prototyping tools. The Company's
continuing investment in software development consists primarily of
enhancements to its existing Windows-based private network and Internet
products and services, development of new data analysis software and
programmer tools (application programming interfaces) designed to afford easy
access to its datafeed for data retrieval and analysis purposes, and
application of new technology to increase the data volume and delivery speed
of its distribution system and network.
ENVIRONMENT
Compliance with federal, state, and local provisions with respect to the
environment has not had a material adverse effect on the Company's capital
expenditures, earnings, or competitive position.
EMPLOYEES
As of December 31, 1997, the Company employed 113 people, none of whom
are represented by a collective bargaining unit. The Company believes it has
a satisfactory relationship with its employees. From time to time the
Company retains the services of outside consultants on an hourly basis.
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
The Company has no material contracts with the Government.
BACKLOGS
Due to the nature of the business, backlogs are not a typical occurrence in
the industry.
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RISK FACTORS
Prospective investors should carefully consider the following risk
factors in addition to other information set forth in this Prospectus before
making a decision to purchase any of the securities offered hereby.
RECENT OPERATING LOSSES AND DECLINING CASH. The Company incurred a loss
of approximately $11.1 million for the year ended December 31, 1997, and as
of December 31, 1997, had an accumulated deficit of approximately $20.1
million and deficit working capital of $5.0 million. These conditions raise
substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.
There can be no assurance that the Company will operate profitably in the
future. See "Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations" and Note 14 of the Notes to Financial Statements for
the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 1997, as filed on Form 10-K incorporated
herein by reference.
Net cash and cash equivalents declined by 16% to $1.1 million at the end
of 1997. Expenditures for new equipment was 13% higher in 1997 versus 1996,
while capitalized software costs were 36% lower in 1997 than 1996. New
direct borrowings of $2,250,000 from the 1997 loan facility with PICO
Holdings, Inc. were also incurred. The Company also received $4.8 million in
net proceeds from the sale of common stock. Agreements were reached with
various vendors to extend payments under negotiated payment plans.
The Company's $1.0 million line of credit with Lakeside Bank expired in
February 1997. The Company was experiencing, and continues to experience,
working capital constraints which has hindered operations. To lessen such
constraints the Company entered into several financing transactions during
1997. On May 5, 1997 the Company entered into a loan and security agreement
with its principal shareholder, PICO Holdings, Inc. ("Holdings"), to provide
working capital loans of up to $1.0 million. In connection with the
extension by Holdings of such $1.0 million facility, the Company and
Physicians Insurance Company of Ohio, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Holdings,
restructured the terms of its $2.5 million subordinated convertible debenture
(the "Debenture"). In August 1997, the Company and Holdings amended the loan
and security agreement increasing the facility by $1.0 million to $2.0
million. In September 1997, the Company and Holdings further amended the
loan and security agreement increasing the facility by $0.25 million to $2.25
million and extending the due date for all borrowings on the facility, plus
accrued interest to December 31, 1997. The loan and security agreement was
further amended in December 1997, February 1998 and March 1998 to extend the
due date to January 31, 1998, February 28, 1998 and April 30, 1998,
respectively (the loan and security agreement, as amended, hereinafter
referred to as the "Loan Agreement").
In October 1997 the Company issued five million (5,000,000) shares of
Common Stock in exchange for five million dollars ($5,000,000), subject to
the Company's obligation to repurchase up to four million shares at one
dollar ($1) per share upon completion of a rights offering.
In November 1997 the Company commenced the rights offering whereby it
granted 7,402,246 transferable subscription rights to shareholders as of
November 21, 1997, entitling
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them to purchase one additional share of Common Stock for each right at a
price of $1.00 per share. If fully subscribed, the Company anticipated it
would have received approximately $7.0 million in net proceeds from the sale
of shares of common stock underlying the rights, of which $4.0 million would
then have been used to repurchase, at $1.00 per share, a portion of the
shares previously issued in October. Proceeds in excess of $4.0 million, if
received, would then be available for general corporate purposes.
In January 1998 the Company completed the rights offering and received
approximately $3.0 million in gross proceeds from the sale of shares
underlying exercised rights. Pursuant to the October stock purchase
agreement, the entire proceeds were used to fulfill the Company's obligation
to repurchase shares. See Note 3 and Note 15 of the Notes to Financial
Statements for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 1997, as filed on Form 10-K
incorporated herein by reference.
NEED FOR ADDITIONAL FINANCING. Due to the decline in cash flow from
operating activities, to levels expected to be insufficient for debt services
(including the $2,250,000 due on April 30, 1998 pursuant to the Loan
Agreement), working capital, and capital expenditures, the Company is
exploring multiple alternatives to raise capital. Such alternatives include
refinancing existing debt, a merger, a spin-off or sale of part of the
Company's business, a strategic relationship or joint venture with another
technology or financial service firm or other financing to further fund the
Company's business. Any capital raised may be costly to the Company and/or
dilutive to stockholders. There can be no assurances, however, that the
Company will be successful in concluding a transaction, or that if a
transaction is concluded that such transaction will result in alleviating the
Company's present financial situation.
If the Company is not able to secure additional capital, the lack of
funds may significantly limit the Company's ability to satisfy its
obligations under the Loan Agreement, realize value from its assets and its
product offerings, and continue its business as currently conducted. See
"Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations" and Note 14 of the Notes to Financial Statements for the Fiscal
Year Ended December 31, 1997, as filed on Form 10-K incorporated herein by
reference.
CONTROL BY PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS. On November 14, 1996, the Company
entered into an agreement (the "Debenture Agreement") with Physicians
Insurance Company of Ohio, ("PICO"), which then owned approximately 30% of
the Company's outstanding shares of Common Stock. Pursuant to the Debenture
Agreement, PICO invested $2.5 million in the Company in exchange for the
"Debenture" in the principal amount of $2.5 million with interest at 1% over
prime. PICO made the investment and the Debenture was issued on December 2,
1996.
On May 5, 1997, the Company and Holdings entered into a Loan and
Security Agreement (the "Loan Agreement"), under which Holdings agreed to
make a secured loan to the Company in an aggregate principal amount of up to
$1.0 million at a fixed rate equal to 14% per annum. In connection with the
Loan Agreement, the Company and PICO entered into a First Amendment to the
Debenture and Debenture Agreement (the "Debenture Amendment"), pursuant to
which the terms of the Debenture were restructured.
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Also on May 5, 1997, in consideration of the loan by Holdings to the
Company, the Company issued a Common Stock Purchase Warrant (the "Warrant")
to Holdings entitling Holdings to purchase a minimum of 640,000 shares of the
Company's Common Stock. The Warrant expires on April 30, 2000. In lieu of
exercising the Warrant for cash, Holdings may elect to receive shares of the
Company's Common Stock equal to the "value" of the Warrant determined in
accordance with a formula specified in the Warrant (the "Conversion Value").
In August 1997, the Company and Holdings agreed to amend the Loan
Agreement and related documents to increase the amount of the secured loan
from Holdings to the Company from $1.0 million up to $2.0 million. In
connection with the increase of the loan amount pursuant to such amendment,
the Company granted Holdings an additional Common Stock Purchase Warrant for
a minimum of 500,000 shares of the Company's Common Stock.
On September 22, 1997 the Company and Holdings executed a second
amendment to the Loan Agreement to further increase the amount of the secured
loan from Holdings to the Company from $2.0 million to $2.25 million. The
terms of the Loan Agreement otherwise remained substantially the same, except
that the maturity date was extended to December 31, 1997. In consideration
of the amendment to the Loan Agreement, the Company granted Holdings another
Common Stock Purchase Warrant for up to 129,032 shares of Common Stock.
On December 30, 1997 the Company and Holdings executed a third amendment
to the Loan Agreement extending the maturity date of the loan to January 31,
1998. No further warrants were issued in connection with the third amendment
to the loan agreement.
On February 5, 1998 and March 10, 1998 the Company and Holdings executed
amendments to the Loan Agreement extending the due date for the borrowings by
the Company, plus accrued interest, until February 28, 1998 and April 30,
1998, respectively. See Note 3 and Note 15 of the Notes to Financial
Statements for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 1997, as filed on Form 10-K
incorporated herein by reference.
As of the date of this prospectus, PICO Holdings, Inc. and its
affiliate, Physicians Insurance Company of Ohio (together, "PICO") own
approximately 17% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock. If PICO
exercises and converts all outstanding warrants and the Debenture, PICO would
beneficially own approximately 39% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock.
Pursuant to PICO's equity interest in the Company and certain negative
covenants contained in the Debenture Agreement, PICO is in a position to
control the outcome of matters requiring a stockholder vote, including the
election of directors. Such control could preclude any unsolicited
acquisition of the Company and, consequently, adversely affect the market
price of the Common Stock.
VARIABILITY OF QUARTERLY OPERATING RESULTS. The Company's revenues,
gross profits and earnings have fluctuated and, in the future, may fluctuate
from quarter to quarter based on such factors as the number, size and scope
of services and software applications which the Company provides, the
contractual terms for the provision of such services and software
applications, any delays incurred in connection with an agreement to provide
services and software applications, the adequacy of provisions for losses,
the accuracy of estimates of
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resources required to complete ongoing service offerings and general economic
conditions. Unanticipated variations in any of such factors may cause
significant variations in operating results in any particular quarter and
could result in losses for such quarter. An existing customer's
unanticipated termination of or failure to renew a major agreement for the
provision of services and software applications during a quarter could have a
material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition and
results of operations.
AGREEMENTS WITH EXCHANGES. The Company's ability to provide services
enabling its clients to access real-time and delayed financial data such as
equities, commodities, futures and options quotations and news is dependent
on its ability to gather ticker and news feeds from securities exchanges and
other sources. The Company has agreements in place with such exchanges and
other sources which permit the Company to gather the information it needs for
its services. The termination, expiration or non-renewal of any of these
agreements could inhibit the Company's ability to provide high quality
services to its clients and, accordingly, have a material adverse effect upon
the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations. See
"The Company."
SOFTWARE LICENSING AGREEMENT. A significant software application which
is offered to subscribers for the Company's financial data quotations and
news services, PC Quote 6.0, is licensed by the Company from an unaffiliated
third party pursuant to a Software Distributor Agreement dated December 4,
1995 (the "Distributor Agreement"). The Distributor Agreement is for a
three-year term but provides for automatic two-year renewals thereafter
unless terminated pursuant to ninety days' notice. The termination,
expiration or non-renewal of the Distributor Agreement could have a material
adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition and results of
operations.
RELIANCE UPON EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND KEY EMPLOYEES. The success of the
Company is highly dependent upon the efforts and abilities of its executive
officers, particularly Mr. Jim Porter, the Company's Chairman of the Board
and Chief Executive Officer. Although certain of its executive officers and
key employees have entered into agreements with the Company which contain,
nondisclosure covenants, such agreements do not guarantee that these
individuals will continue their employment with the Company. The loss of
services of certain executive officers or key employees for any reason could
have a material adverse effect upon the Company's business, financial
condition and results of operations.
COMPETITION. The market for the on-line provision of financial
information such as equities, commodities, futures and options quotations and
news through services and software applications similar to those the Company
provides includes a large number of competitors and is subject to rapid
change. The Company believes its primary competitors include Automatic Data
Processing, the Telerate unit of Dow Jones & Co., Bloomberg, the Comstock
unit of Standard & Poors, the ILX unit of Thomson Corporation, Telesphere
Global Ticker, Reuters, Quote.com and Data Broadcasting Corporation. Many of
these competitors have significantly greater financial, technical and
marketing resources and greater name recognition than the Company. Such
competition may impose additional pricing pressures on the Company. There
can be no assurance that the Company can compete successfully with its
existing competitors or with any new competitors.
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SUBSCRIPTION CONTRACT RISKS. Many of the Company's subscription
contracts are for services and software applications which are critical to
the operations of its customers' businesses. The Company's failure or
inability to deliver services and software to its customers' satisfaction
could have a material adverse effect on its customers' operations and could
consequently subject the Company to litigation or damage the Company's
reputation, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's
business, financial condition and results of operations.
Substantially all of the Company's subscription contracts are of
relatively short duration, their maximum length is three years. Although
these contracts carry early termination penalties, the unexpected termination
or non-renewal by a client of a significant contract could have a material
adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition and results of
operations.
CUSTOMER CONCENTRATION. The Company has derived a significant portion
of its revenues from a limited number of large customers. In 1995, 1996 and
1997, the Company's largest customer accounted for approximately 29%, 20% and
4% of its revenues, respectively, and its ten largest clients accounted for
approximately 43%, 39% and 14% of its revenues, respectively. The volume of
services provided to specific customers varies from year to year. There can
be no assurance that a large customer in one year will continue to use the
Company's services in a subsequent year. Furthermore, the Company is not
always the exclusive provider of securities quotations and news to its
customers. The loss of any large customer could have a material adverse
effect on the Company's business, financial condition and results of
operations.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES. The information technology industry has
experienced and is continuing to experience rapid technological advances and
developments. The Company's success will depend in part on its ability to
develop solutions which keep pace with continuing changes in information
processing technology, evolving industry standards and changing client
preferences. While the Company is actively engaged in research and
development activities to meet such client needs and preferences, there can
be no assurance that the Company will be successful in addressing these
developments on a timely basis or that, if addressed, the Company will be
successful in the marketplace. The Company's delay or failure to address
these developments could have a material adverse effect on the Company's
results of operations. In addition, there can be no assurance that
technologies developed by others will not render the Company's services
noncompetitive or obsolete.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. Software developed by PC Quote in
connection with customer services typically is licensed for use by the
customers. The Company holds no patents or registered copyrights and has no
present intention of registering any copyrights or filing any patent
applications. The following products are registered trademarks:
BasketMaker-Registered Trademark-, QuoteWare-Registered Trademark-,
PriceWare-Registered Trademark- and QuoteBlaster-Registered Trademark-. The
HyperFeed-TM- product is a servicemark of the Company.
Although the Company believes that its services and software
applications do not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others
and that it has all rights necessary to utilize the intellectual property
employed in its business, the Company is subject to the risk of
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litigation alleging infringement of third-party intellectual property rights.
The Company typically agrees to indemnify its clients against such claims.
Any such claims could require the Company to spend significant sums in
litigation, pay damages, develop non-infringing intellectual property or
acquire licenses to the intellectual property which is the subject of
asserted infringement.
The Company relies upon a combination of nondisclosure and other
contractual arrangements and trade secret, copyright and trademark laws to
protect its rights, the rights of third parties from whom the Company
licenses intellectual property and the proprietary rights of its clients.
There can be no assurance, however that the steps taken by the Company will
be adequate to deter misappropriation of proprietary information or that the
Company will be able to detect unauthorized use and take appropriate steps to
enforce its intellectual property rights.
RISKS OF LICENSING PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS. The Company does
not have patent or federal copyright protection for its proprietary software
products. Although applicable software is readily duplicated illegally by
anyone having access to appropriate hardware, the Company attempts to protect
its proprietary software through license agreements with customers and common
law trade secret protection and non-disclosure contract provisions in its
agreements with its employees. The Company uses security measures, including
a hardware key, which restricts access to its on-line services unless proper
password identification from a PC Quote user is provided. As an additional
safeguard, the Company provides only the object code on its diskette and
retains the source code. There can be no assurance that such licensees will
properly utilize the Company's software applications and services. The
failure by licensees to adhere strictly to the Company's standards could
subject the Company to litigation and harm the Company's reputation thereby
resulting in a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial
condition and results of operations.
REQUIREMENTS FOR LISTING SECURITIES ON THE AMERICAN STOCK EXCHANGE. The
Common Stock is currently listed with the American Stock Exchange. The
Company currently does not meet the standards for continued listing, however,
the Common Stock has not been de-listed from the American Stock Exchange. If
the Common Stock were to be de-listed, trading, if any, would thereafter be
conducted on an electronic bulletin board established for securities that do
not meet listing requirements or in what is commonly referred to as the "pink
sheets." As a result, an investor may find it more difficult to dispose of,
or to obtain accurate quotations as to the price of, the Company's securities.
POSSIBLE VOLATILITY OF STOCK PRICE. The Company's Common Stock is
thinly traded and may experience significant price and volume fluctuations
which could adversely affect the market price of the Common Stock without
regard to the operating performance of the Company.
ANTI-TAKEOVER PROVISIONS. The Company's Certificate of Incorporation
and By-laws, the Delaware General Corporation Law and the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 contain certain provisions that could have the effect of
discouraging or making more difficult the acquisition of the Company by means
of a tender offer, a proxy contest or otherwise, even though such an
acquisition might be economically beneficial to the Company's stockholders.
These include provisions under which (i) only the Board of Directors or an
authorized special
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committee thereof may call meetings of stockholders, and (ii) stockholders
must comply with certain advance notice procedures to nominate candidates for
election as directors of the Company and to submit proposals for
consideration at stockholders' meetings. The ability of the Board of
Directors to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, in one or more
classes or series, and with such powers, designations, preferences and
relative, participating, optional or special rights, qualifications,
limitations or restrictions as may be determined by the Board of Directors of
the Company, also could make an acquisition of the Company more difficult.
In addition, these provisions may make the removal of management more
difficult, even in cases where such removal would be favorable to the
interests of the Company's stockholders.
DEPENDENCE UPON FINANCIAL MARKETS. A significant portion of the
Company's revenue is derived from supplying financial data and quotations
related to U.S. financial exchanges and markets. Any significant downturn or
other negative development with respect to those exchanges and markets could
adversely effect the Company's revenue.
USE OF PROCEEDS
The shares of Common Stock offered hereby are being sold by the Selling
Shareholders for their own account. The Company will not receive any of the
proceeds from the sale of such Shares. The Company has agreed to pay the
expenses of registration of the Common Stock, including a certain amount of
legal and accounting fees. See "Plan of Distribution."
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PRICE RANGE OF COMMON STOCK
The Company's shares of Common Stock are traded on the American Stock
Exchange under the symbol "PQT." The following tables show for 1998, 1997 and
1996 the high and low closing prices of the Company's Common Stock for the
periods indicated, as reported by the American Stock Exchange.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
1998 QUARTERLY INFORMATION HIGH LOW
<S> <C> <C>
First 1-1/8 5/8
Second (through April 2, 1998) 13/16 11/16
1997 QUARTERLY INFORMATION HIGH LOW
First 3-7/16 2-5/16
Second 2-7/16 1-1/8
Third 2-7/16 1-9/16
Fourth 2-3/16 15/16
1996 QUARTERLY INFORMATION
First 15-1/8 8-3/4
Second 13-3/8 7-1/8
Third 7-11/16 3-15/16
Fourth 5-5/16 2-3/8
</TABLE>
The closing market price for the shares of Common Stock as reported by
the American Stock Exchange on March 31, 1998 was $0.6875.
As of December 31, 1997, the Company had 412 stockholders of record of
its Common Stock.
DIVIDEND POLICY
The Company has not paid dividends on its Common Stock and it does not
presently anticipate making any such payments in the near future. The
Company's agreement with a lender prohibits the payment of dividends without
the lenders prior consent.
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SELLING SHAREHOLDERS
This Prospectus covers offers from time to time by Imprimis Investors
LLC and Wexford Spectrum Investors LLC (collectively the "Wexford Affiliates"
or the "Selling Shareholders") of their shares of Common Stock. The maximum
number of Shares that may be sold by the Selling Shareholders pursuant to
this Prospectus is 2,011,051 shares.
In October 1997 the Selling Shareholders expended $5.0 million to
purchase five million shares of Common Stock and warrants to purchase five
hundred thousand shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $2.00 per
share, exercisable at any time prior to October 15, 2002 (the "Initial
Warrants").
The Selling Shareholders have acquired the Common Stock and the Initial
Warrants for investment purposes pursuant to a certain Stock and Warrant
Purchase Agreement dated October 15, 1997, between PC Quote, Inc. and the
Wexford Affiliates (the "Purchase Agreement"). Pursuant to the terms of the
Purchase Agreement, on October 15, 1997, the Selling Shareholders purchased
1,450,000 shares of Common Stock and the initial Warrants for a purchase
price of $1.45 million. On October 20, 1997, pursuant to the terms of the
Purchase Agreement, the Wexford Affiliates purchased an additional 550,000
shares of Common Stock for a purchase price of $0.55 million. On October 23,
1997, pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement, the Wexford Affiliates
purchased an additional 3,000,000 shares of Common Stock for a purchase price
of $3.0 million.
Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, 2,988,949 shares of the Common Stock
purchased by the Wexford Affiliates were repurchased by the Company on
January 26, 1998, at a purchase price of $1.00 per share. The Shares offered
hereby are being registered by the Company pursuant to the terms of the
Purchase Agreement.
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
This offering of 2,011,051 shares of Common Stock is being made by the
Selling Shareholders, who have indicated they are acting independently of the
Company in determining the manner and extent of sales of the shares of Common
Stock included herein. The Company will receive none of the proceeds of this
offering.
Although all of the shares of the Common Stock that are currently owned
by the Selling Shareholders are being registered for public sale, the sale of
any or all of such Shares by the Selling Shareholders may depend on the sale
price of such Shares and market conditions generally prevailing at the time.
The Selling Shareholders reserve the right to reject any order in whole or in
part.
The Selling Shareholders may sell the shares of Common Stock being
offered hereby in one or more transactions (which may include block
transactions) effected from time to time on the American Stock Exchange, in
special offerings, in the over-the-counter market, in negotiated
transactions, or through a combination of such methods of sale, in each case
at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices relating to such
prevailing market prices,
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<PAGE>
or at negotiated prices. The shares of Common Stock may be sold by one or
more of the following methods: (i) a block trade in which the broker or
dealer so engaged will attempt to sell the Shares as agent but may position
and resell a portion of the block as principal to facilitate the transaction;
(ii) purchases by a broker or dealer as principal and resale by such broker
or dealer for its account pursuant to this Prospectus; (iii) an exchange
distribution and/or a security distribution in accordance with the rules of
the American Stock Exchange; and (iv) ordinary brokerage transactions and
transactions in which the broker solicits purchasers. In effecting sales,
brokers or dealers engaged by the Selling Shareholders may arrange for other
brokers or dealers to participate.
Some or all of the Shares offered hereunder also may be sold to or
through an underwriter or underwriters. Any Shares sold in that manner will
be acquired by such underwriters for their own accounts and may be resold
from time to time in one or more transactions, including negotiated
transactions, at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices
determined at the time of sale. Such Shares may be offered to the public
through underwriting syndicates represented by one or more managing
underwriters or may be offered to the public directly by one or more
underwriters. Any initial public offering price and any discounts or
concessions allowed or disallowed or paid to dealers may be changed from time
to time.
If any of the Common Stock offered hereby is sold through underwriters,
brokers or dealers, the Selling Shareholders may pay customary underwriting
discounts and brokerage commissions and charges. The Selling Shareholders
and any underwriters, brokers or dealers or other persons who participate
with them in the distribution of the Shares offered hereby may be deemed to
be "underwriters" within the meaning of the Securities Act, although the
Selling Shareholders disclaim such status. Any commissions and discounts
received by such underwriters, brokers or dealers, and any profit on the
resale of the stock by such underwriters, brokers or dealers, may be deemed
to be underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act.
Neither the delivery of the Prospectus, or any Prospectus Supplement, nor any
other action taken by the Company, the Selling Shareholders or any purchaser
in connection with the purchase or sale of Shares offered hereby shall be
deemed or treated as an admission that any of them is an underwriter within
the meaning of the Securities Act in the connection with the sales of any
Shares.
The Selling Shareholders have agreed to indemnify and hold harmless the
Company, its officers and directors, with respect to any untrue statement in
or omission from, this Prospectus or the Registration Statement of which it
is a part, including amendments and supplements, if such statement or
omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Company by
such Selling Shareholder for use in the preparation of this Prospectus or
Registration Statement.
The Company will pay all expenses incidental to the registration of the
Common Stock, but will not pay selling or other expenses incurred in the
offering, including the discounts and commissions of broker-dealers. The
Company has agreed to indemnify the Selling Shareholders against certain
civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, in
connection with the Common Stock offered hereby.
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<PAGE>
The shares of Common Stock being offered hereby may also be sold by the
Selling Shareholders pursuant to Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities
Act.
EXPERTS
The financial statements and schedule of the company included in the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the year ended December 31, 1997,
incorporated by reference in this Prospectus and elsewhere in the
Registration Statement, have been audited by KPMG Peat Marwick LLP,
independent public accountants, as indicated in their reports with respect
thereto, and such financial statements and schedule are incorporated herein
by reference in reliance upon such reports given upon the authority of such
firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
The financial statements and schedule of the Company as of December 31,
1996, and for each of the two years for the period then ended, included in
the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the year ended December 31,
1997, incorporated by reference in this Prospectus and elsewhere in the
Registration Statement, have been audited by McGladrey and Pullen,
independent public accountants, as indicated in their reports with respect
thereto, and such financial statements and schedule are incorporated herein
by reference in reliance upon such reports given upon the authority of such
firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
LEGAL MATTERS
The validity of the Shares offered hereby has been passed upon for the
Company by Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon, 225 West Wacker Drive, Suite
2800, Chicago, Illinois 60606-1229.
No dealer, salesperson or any other person has been authorized to give
any information or to make any representations other than those contained in
this Prospectus, and, if given or made, such information or representations
must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the Company, any Selling
Shareholder or any other person. This Prospectus does not constitute an
offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy to any person in any
jurisdiction in which such offer or solicitation would be unlawful or to any
person to whom it is unlawful. Neither the delivery of this Prospectus nor
any offer or sale made hereunder shall, under any circumstances, create any
implication that there has been no change in the affairs of the Company or
that the information contained herein is correct as of any time subsequent to
the date hereof.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Available Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Incorporation of Certain Documents By Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
The Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Risk Factors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Use of Proceeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Price Range of Common Stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Selling Shareholders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Plan of Distribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Experts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Legal Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
20
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2,011,051 Shares
PC QUOTE, INC.
Common Stock
$.001 Par Value
-------------
PROSPECTUS
-------------
April 24, 1998
