Gator, er, Claria Files for IPO

Thanks HellBender for this. Claria, the controversial adware company formerly known as Gator, on Thursday filed for an initial public offering to raise $150 million to continue developing its "behavioral marketing platform."

Claria develops and distributes ad-serving software that presents users with pop-ups and pop-unders whenever they visit specific websites. Several top retailers and services firms, including Hertz, L.L. Bean and Wells Fargo, have sued the company, claiming Claria's software violates various state and federal laws by foisting their rivals' ads onto their sites.

Critics have also blasted the company for not fully explaining to users the impact of its software, which sends information about users' Web browsing habits back to the company's servers. Recently, Utah became the first state to pass a law making such software illegal. Lawmakers in California and Iowa hope to follow suit soon.

Claria acknowledged these risks in its filing. But its business apparently isn't suffering.

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