Aerohive Files For $75M IPO

Wireless networking vendor Aerohive Networks has filed an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, seeking up to $75 million.

In its S-1 form filed Thursday, Aerohive did not list a target price for the IPO or specify the number of shares it expects to sell. Aerohive did say, however, that it's looking to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker "HIVE."

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Aerohive has been eyeing an IPO since 2012, when it raised $22.5 million in its fifth round of funding. CEO David Flynn told the Silicon Valley Business Journal at the time that he wasn't seeking anymore funding and had "ambitious plans" to take the company public sometime in 2013. In July 2013, however, Aerohive disclosed another $10 million round.

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Founded in 2006, Aerohive has been steadily building a buzz around its "cooperative control architecture," or the deployment of wireless access points (AP) using a controllerless approach that moves wireless controller functions to the wireless access points themselves. Not needing a controller, Aerohive argues, means a lower price point than competitive solutions.

Aerohive, which does the majority of its North American sales through the channel, has also expanded its portfolio into areas like cloud and mobile device management over the past few years.

Paul Whalley, vice president at Whalley Computer Associates, a Southwick, Mass.-based solution provider and Aerohive partner, said his Aerohive business has been very strong, particularly within the K-12 vertical, and that Aerohive, as a partner, has been "fantastic." He said he hopes going public doesn't change that.

"The [Aerohive] product is unbelievable, and they are fantastic to work with," Whalley said. "You never know until it happens, but we hope they remain that customer-centric, flexible and nimble company that they have been. There are some public companies that manage to keep that and there are some that don’t. So we will be watching anxiously to see how that goes."

Aerohive did not immediately respond to CRN's request for comment.

Aerohive said in its S-1 form that it's experienced "rapid revenue growth," with sales for the first three quarters of 2013 totaling $76.9 million, a 52 percent jump from the $50.4 million in sales it made during the same nine-month period in 2012.

The company, however, has struggled to pull a profit. According to the S-1, Aerohive saw a net loss of $25.4 million during the first three quarters of 2013, compared to a loss of $15.8 million during the first three quarters of 2012.

According to Aerohive's S-1, the company as of Sept. 30, 2012, has 11,500 customers in over 36 countries.

Aerohive said its public offering will be led by Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch.

PUBLISHED FEB. 14, 2014