Liquor.com Hits Sobriety

Wine and spirits e-commerce company Liquor.com Thursday joined the bevy of companies that have retreated from proposed IPOs due to pressures imposed by a volatile stock market.

The company requested withdrawal of the 3-million-share IPO — through which it hoped to raise $24.3 million — on Oct. 2, and received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.

Liquor.com originally requested the IPO on July 10 and delayed it on Aug. 9 before throwing in the towel.

“After careful consideration of all available options and given the unfavorable market conditions, we believe that it is best for Liquor.com to move forward as a private company,” said Barry L. Grieff, chief executive officer of Liquor.com. “We have secured additional private financing and are well positioned for future growth. The company will address the public market when conditions improve.”

Liquor.com spokesperson Denise Roche said the company is not yet ready to comment on the new funding.

Liquor.com is not alone in feeling the pressure of the market. Also on Thursday, The New York Times Company withdrew a proposal for a $100 million offering of a tracking stock of New York Times Digital, its Internet business division.

Liquor.com had hoped to be listed on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol LIQR, but a series of gloomy earnings reports by technology companies has frightened investors. The Nasdaq recorded its lowest close this year Thursday — even lower than the plunge it took in April — though that was in part caused by a 380 point tumble in the Dow Jones Industrial Average fueled by rising tensions in the Middle East.