A10 Networks goes public with $100 million IPO

A10 Networks, the California-based manufacturer of application delivery controllers, filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday night for a $100 million initial public offering, capping an apparent resurgence in the company's fortunes and joining its rivals on the stock exchange.

The IPO is being underwritten by J.P. Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, RBC, Oppenheimer and Pacific Crest. A10 will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ATEN," though no initial asking price for shares has been released.

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A10 is generally regarded as an up-and-coming player in the ADC world, with its offerings beginning to challenge those of market heavyweights like F5 and Citrix. Gartner's most recent Magic Quadrant report for the ADC sector, appropriately enough, rates A10 in the "challengers" section, describing the company as a "fast follower" beginning to make its own mark.

A10's recent legal troubles the company settled a major patent infringement suit brought by rival Brocade in 2013 haven't helped its image much, and the firm has been eager to put the matter behind it. A10's S1 filing with the SEC says that it is still a party to IP-related legal action against what it describes as a patent holding company, as well as a lawsuit brought by another rival, Radware.

The IPO follows hard on the heels of a major refresh of A10's main product lines, which was announced late last month. Along with new models of the company's Thunder series hardware modules, A10 rolled out extensive new virtualized and hybrid products under the umbrella brand "aCloud Services Architecture."

A10's announcement also follows that of Aerohive Networks, a wireless access point manufacturer, which filed for a $75 million IPO last week. Aerohive is another up-and-comer with powerful rivals, including Cisco and Aruba.

Email Jon Gold at jgold@nww.com and follow him on Twitter at @NWWJonGold.

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