Evite seeks a buyer

Evite Inc. CEO Josh Silverman has put the company up for sale, he said Friday. The company has retained invement bank Chase H&Q to "aid the company in moving through this process," according to a company spokesman.

The company, which offers online planning and communications technologies for consumers, has about $17 million in the bank and, unlike many dot-coms, has advertising from brands including Pampers, Heineken, Polaroid, and outdoor recreation company REI. But "the bar for what the public markets will support has gotten extremeley high," Silverman said. "Media Metrix top 20 sites don't even cut it any more."

He said the company wasn't likely to go public in the struggling dot-com market. "We could have grown until we were almost out of money, and with our backs against the wall, then put ourselves up for sale," Silverman said. "It's the opinion of me and the board that without an IPO exit available, that leaves only the acquisition option."

The company raised a total of $38 million in venture capital, the last a $30 million round last October. -- Ben Charny, ZDNet News