Bill Gates invests in Gay.com, PlanetOut

bLog.SeattlePI.NWSource.com

Bill Gates, operating through his Cascade Investment arm, is among the investors participating in the $26.2 million funding of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender online community PlanetOut.

PlanetOut, which trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker LGBT and also operates the Web site Gay.com, went public at $9 per share in October 2004.

But since that time, the stock has been in free fall. It closed today at $1.59, up 15 percent.

Last year, PlanetOut reported revenue of $68.6 million –up 93 percent over 2005. But it also reported a net loss of $3.7 million last year.