Market Conditions Still Hurting IPOs

The market for first-time stock offerings isn’t out of the woods yet.

On Friday, WorldRes.com Inc., whose online reservation system connects hotels to travel Web sites, withdrew its $69-million initial public offering because of market conditions.

The company, whose network includes big chains such as Choice Hotels and Accor as well as independent hotels and resorts such as St. Moritz and Vail Resorts, announced the withdrawal in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

San Mateo-based WorldRes was planning to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including working capital to fund anticipated operating losses.

WorldRes originally filed to go public early last April and sought a Nasdaq listing under the symbol WRES. It had hired Robertson Stephens, J.P. Morgan and Prudential Volpe Technology to handle the sale.

WorldRes, whose competitors include Expedia (ticker symbol: EXPE) and Travelocity.com (TVLY), used to be known as Places to Stay Inc.

Meanwhile, UOL Inc., Brazil’s No. 1 online company, has a slim chance of selling shares on Wall Street this year and should focus on alternative financing sources, industry analysts said.

With shares of U.S. Internet companies falling over the last year, analysts forecast a frosty reception to any effort by UOL to launch an IPO.

UOL declined to comment on its strategy. It had intended to go public in 2000, but a March-April slide in technology stocks derailed plans.

“An IPO is not an alternative for UOL right now . . .,� said Mauro Peres, research director at IDC in Brazil, a U.S.-based media and Internet research group.

Hopes rose Thursday that the IPO market might be reviving after shares of KPMG Consulting (KCIN) rose 30% in their first day of trading. KPMG Consulting’s stock slipped 48 cents to $23 on Friday.