Aerohive Networks, which provides controller-less, cloud-based Wi-Fi, has filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The proposed number of shares and the price range have not been determined yet. Aerohive provides hardware that includes access points, routers, gateways and switches, all managed by its cloud-based management platform. The company is positioning itself as offering a Wi-Fi solution with simple, unified management software and a single architecture, with a lower cost and easier deployment because of its cloud component.
According to the company’s SEC filing, it had about 11,500 end-customers worldwide at the end of September 2013.
“Our efforts to date have focused on distributed enterprises, K-12 and higher education,” the company said in its S-1 form. “Within distributed enterprises, we have operated with vertical market-specific focus on the healthcare and retail industries and state and local government, and we have operated with a general approach to other markets, including manufacturing, utilities, transportation, finance and other professional services.”
Aerohive said that its revenue has grown rapidly, from $15.6 million in 2010 to $24 million in 2011 and $71.2 million in 2012 — a compound annual growth rate of 114%. The first nine months of 2013 showed continued growth, to $76.9 million compared to $50.4 million in the same stretch of 2012. Its net losses have also increased as it has grown, however — from $11.8 million in 2010 to$14.8 million in 2011 and $24.7 million in 2012. Net loss for the first nine months of 2012 vs. 2013 increased from $15.8 million to $25.4 million.
Goldman Sach & Co. and BofA Merrill Lynch are joint book-running managers for the IPO, and co-managers are Piper Jaffray & Co., William Blair & Company, L.L.C., and JMP Securities LLC.
