WiFi switch maker hopes to raise as much as $100 million when its shares go public

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

December 17, 2006

2 Min Read
Aruba Files for IPO

Enterprise wireless LAN startup Aruba Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: ARUN) has filed for a long-anticipated IPO and plans to raise up to $100 million with the float.

Aruba filed its S-1 late Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) . Goldman Sachs & Co. and Lehman Brothers are the lead underwriters. Aruba expects to list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "ARUN."

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based vendor has long said that it wants to go public. Unstrung first reported in November that the firm was gearing up to file with the SEC. (See Aruba Plots Imminent IPO and Aruba Flirting With IPO?)

Aruba is currently the largest startup in the enterprise wireless LAN market. It consistently ranks third in the overall market after Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Symbol Technologies Inc. (NYSE: SBL). (See Enterprise WLAN Market Up 19%.)

Aruba makes the bulk of its money through sales of WLAN controllers (or switches) and managed access points. Aruba says that it made revenues of $24.5 million in the three months ended October 31. Aruba's financial year ends on July 31, so for 2006 it reported total revenues of $72.5 million, compared to $12 million for the fiscal year of 2005.

The company, however, has yet to turn a profit. It reports net losses of $32.6 million and $12 million for its 2005 and 2006 fiscal years, respectively, and a $4.5 million loss for the three months ended October 31, 2006.

"We have a history of losses and have not achieved profitability on a quarterly or annual basis, and we anticipate that we will incur net losses for at least the next several quarters," the firm notes in its SEC documents.

Probably the largest single deal that Aruba has on its books right now is its contract to unwire Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT)'s campuses around the world. (See Aruba Wins Microsoft Deal.) Aruba's total revenues selling to Microsoft "exceed $3.5 million" and will be recognized after completion of the IPO.

In return, Aruba says it will issue $3.5 million in common stock to Microsoft, based on the initial offering price, upon completion of its IPO.

It generally takes three months or more for a company to actually IPO after its first S-1 filing.

— Dan Jones, Site Editor, Unstrung

About the Author(s)

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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