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Arista Networks, MobileIron, and more could show whether the tech IPO market has got its mojo back this summer.
5 Min Read
The next couple of months should help establish if the initial public offering market has recovered after a somewhat rocky and unpredictable first six months of the year.
Several crucial expected IPOs should help serve as a barometer for the tech market. Here's Light Reading's rundown of what's to come, what's happened so far in 2014, and what may happen in the tech IPO sector.
Planned IPOs
Arista Networks: The Santa Clara, Calif., Gigabit Ethernet switch and data center software maker is due to complete its initial offering on the New York Stock Exchange on July 6. A recent research report from the analysts at MKM Partners suggests that Arista Networks Inc. will go for a price ranging from $36 to $40 a share.
We believe the mid-point of the pricing range implies a $2.99bn market cap and $2.74bn enterprise value. The mid-point represents 3.7x EV to our 2015 sales estimate of $733mn and 28x our 2015 non-GAAP EPS estimate of $1.35.
Arista is already a significant player in the Gigabit Ethernet market with a 6% market share, making it No. 2 behind Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO), MKM Partners says. The analysts are also expecting Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) to become a significant customer for its cloud networking data center software through 2015.
One possible downside for the company's IPO at the moment is that Microsoft is a major customer, accounting for 22% of all revenue in 2013. Another potential issue is that the company could face a legal challenge from another startup linked to an ex-board member and founder of Arista. (See Arista Faces Legal Challenge as It Files for $200M IPO.)
Box: The Silicon Valley cloud storage company initially filed for a $250 million IPO on March 24. It has delayed the offering but is still expected to try and go public this summer.
Com Hem: The Swedish cable operator announced plans to raise 5.5 billion kronor ($829 million) from an IPO on the Stockholm exchange late in May. (See Com Hem Preps $829M IPO.)
Good Technology: The Sunnyvale, Calif., enterprise mobility management company revealed in May that it has filed for a $100 million IPO. Formed in 1996, Good Technology Inc. posted a net loss of $118.4 million on $160.4 million in revenue in 2013, compared to a net loss of $90.4 million on $116.6 million in revenue in 2012. (See Moto Offloads Good Technology.)
Goodman Networks: The Plano, Texas, network infrastructure services company Goodman Networks Inc. filed plans for an IPO back in April. The company is reportedly hoping to raise up to $100 million through a Nasdaq offering.
MobileIron: The Mountain View, Calif., mobile device security management company is planning a 15% float of its stock on the Nasdaq this month.
At the end of May, MobileIron filed documents listing an expected price range of $8-$10 for the 11.1 million shares to be offered. If an overallotment option of 1.67 million shares is sold when the company goes public, that could take the value of the IPO to nearly $128 million. (See Mobile Gets $825.1M in New Investment in May and MobileIron Goes Flat Out for IPO.)
Recent IPOs
The California networking security company A10 Networks Inc. raised $187.5 million in an IPO in March. (See A10 IPO Sputters Off the Ground and A10 Networks Reports Revenues Leap in Q1.)
The French cable and telecom services holding company Altice raised $1.7 billion going public on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange at the end of January. (See Euronews: TV Sport Boosts BT's Q3.)
The UK fiber optic provider CityFibre Holdings Plc made $16.5 million on an IPO in January. (See CityFibre Raises £16.5M From IPO.)
The local UK operator Manx Telecom Ltd. went public on the AIM small-cap market in February, raising 156.3 million pounds ($254.3 million) from its initial offering. (See Euronews: 21 Géant Leaps for Mankind?)
The South Korean opto-electronic transceiver firm OE Solutions raised $7.7 million in an IPO in early March. (See OE Solutions Raises $7.7M in IPO.)
The customer service software company Zendesk had a $100 million IPO in mid-May. The San Francisco company's shares rose nearly 50% in the first day of trading.
Possible IPOs
The LTE chip company Altair Semiconductor is considering an IPO in 2015. (See Does M2M Need LTE?)
Apigee Corp. , a large independent analytics player, is a likely candidate for a future IPO since closing another $60 million in venture capital funding in April. The company confirmed to Light Reading this week that it is on track for an IPO. (See Apigee Banks $60M for APIs, Analytics.)
There have been persistent rumors that the data transport infrastructure vendor BTI Systems Inc. could file for an IPO. New CEO Colin Doherty didn't rule out the possibility in April, but he appeared to suggest that a float isn't a top priority for the company. (See Is BTI Heading for an IPO? and New BTI CEO's Mandate: 'Scale the Business'.)
The Irish operator eir is reported to be looking into an IPO. (See Eurobites: Sawiris Eyes Telecom Italia Investment.)
There is frequent speculation that the streaming mobile music startup Spotify will file for an IPO this year. (See IPO Playlist.)
In November, The Wall Street Journal reported that the mobile credit card reader startup Square Inc. could consider an IPO in 2014.
The San Francisco mobile messaging startup Twilio Inc. (NYSE: TWLO) has said that it is working toward an IPO after it appointed former Amazon CIO Richard Dalzell to the board in May. Twilio was one of the best-funded startups of 2013, with more than $100 million of VC money raised. (See The Best-Funded Mobile Startups of 2013.)
— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading
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