NEW YORK-Israeli wireless broadband equipment companies have been strutting their stuff on Wall Street lately.
Floware Wireless Systems Ltd. sold its 4.5 million-share initial public offering Aug. 1. Credit Suisse First Boston served as lead underwriter for the Nasdaq-listed stock sale, which priced at $13 per share, the top of the expected range.
Floware made its IPO debut under auspicious circumstances. In late July, BreezeCom Ltd., Tel Aviv, another wireless broadband access equipment provider, released second-quarter results showing net income of $2.6 million, compared with a loss of $10.3 million a year earlier.
BreezeCom went public on Nasdaq in late March at $20 per share after raising its expected price range to $17-$19, up from the $15-$17 originally expected. At the end of July, the company’s stock had risen to $33 per share.
On deck last week was yet another Israeli wireless access equipment vendor, Giganet Ltd., also based in Tel Aviv.
Floware, headquartered in Or Yehuda, began field trials of its WALKair system in August 1998, and has systems in place today in 15 countries. Customers include FirstMark Communications, Telefonica de Argentina and United Pan-Europe Communications, each of which is building networks heavily reliant on Floware technology.
The WALKair system helps telecommunications services providers offer high-speed Internet access and voice services in the 3.5 GHz, 10.5 GHz and 26 GHz radio-frequency bands.
“Our primary distribution channel is through major telecom systems integrators,” the company said in its registration statement.
“We believe that our WALKair system is better than broadband point-to-multipoint fixed wireless local access systems offered by our competitors.”
Among its strategic distribution partners is Siemens, which now owns 27.4 percent of Floware. NEC Corp. is another key distributor of Floware technologies.
