SiliconBeat

At the very least, give the folks at OpenTable, the San Francisco-based developer of an electronic reservation booking system, an A for chutzpah, as they launch an initial public offering in the midst of a consumer-spending meltdown (Risk duly noted below.)

The company registered today to raise an estimated $40 million in an initial public offering of its shares underwritten by Merrill Lynch, now a part of Bank of America.

It’s the first IPO registration by a Bay Area company in six months and only the third this year nationwide, according to data from IPOmonitor.com.

The company, founded in 1998, first focused on developing a critical mass of local restaurant customers in four regions: Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. It has expanded its markets and as of the end of 2008 reports having some 10,000 OpenTable restaurant customers spanning all 50 states as well as “select markets” outside the U.S.

It reports sales during the first nine months of 2008 of $41.3 million, roughly equal to sales for all of 2007, when it actually reported a $9.2 million profit, thanks largely to a $9.1 million tax credit. During the first nine months of this year, it has a net loss of $149,000. The company also reports having had $17.4 million in cash as of Sept. 30.

While no financial numbers are included for its recently completed 2008 fourth quarter, the company includes this gloomy bit of news in a section detailing the risks involved in plunking down money to by its shares at the moment:

Because spending for restaurant dining is generally considered to be a discretionary purchase, declines in consumer spending may have a more negative effect on our business than on other companies in general. In particular, a significant majority of our restaurant customers are fine-dining restaurants which have been particularly affected by economic downturns such as the one we are currently experiencing. We believe that the total number of reservations, including reservations by phone, seated by our restaurant customers has decreased approximately 10% to 15% for the fourth quarter of 2008 from the same period in 2007.

Among the company’s venture capital backers are local firms Benchmark Capital, which owns 26.4 percent of shares outstanding, and Integral Capital Partners, which holds a 7.5 percent stake. Also among its backers are New York VCs Impact Venture Partners, which holds 17.5 percent of OpenTables stock, and Barry Dillers IAC/Interactive, with 10.9 percent.

Among OpenTable’s managements are Ex-PayPal president Jeffrey Jordan, who serves as chief executive, and Matthew Roberts, formerly of E-LOAN, as chief financial officer.

Among the directors serving on its board are former Ask Jeeves chief executive “Skip” Battle and Michelle Peluso, former chief executive of Travelocity.