Anythoughts on these guys?
news.cnet.com
StorageApps files for $115 million IPO
By Bloomberg News
November 3, 2000, 4:40 p.m. PT
WASHINGTON--StorageApps, a company that sells data storage hardware and services, filed to raise as much as $115 million in an initial public stock offering.
The Bridgewater, N.J.-based company says it intends to become "the leading provider of network storage products and services," according to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Three quarters of StorageApps' 1999 sales were to the financial services industry, and customers include Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Merrill Lynch, the filing said.
StorageApps also started selling technology in the third quarter of 2000 to Dell Computer for Dell to use in its PowerVault530F storage device, and it is pursuing relationships with other original equipment manufacturers, the filing said. Dell owns a 5-percent stake in the company before the IPO.
"We believe this strategy will help us increase our customer base rapidly, generate awareness and acceptance of our technology in the marketplace and allow us to target potential customers more efficiently," the filing said.
StorageApps reported net income of $1.9 million on $23.3 million in net sales last year, compared with net income of $2.6 million on net sales of $24 million the year before.
The company gre from 24 employees at the end of last year to 169 by Nov. 1, 2000, and expects to hire many more people the filing said.
Formerly known as RAID Power Service, the company was started in 1995 and specialized then in a form of storage known as "redundant array of independent disks," or RAID, a method of storing the same data on multiple hard disks. Though the company has since shifted its focus to another kind of storage technology, it still makes money from sales of both types of technology.
Daniel Gittleman, 34, the company's chairman and chief executive, founded the company and launched other technology start-ups before that, the filing said. He holds a 41.6-percent stake in the company before the IPO. Directors include former Dell vice chairman Morton Topfer.
The company warned prospective investors that the market for network storage is new, and potential customers who have already invested substantial resources in their existing data storage systems may be reluctant to adopt a new approach.
It also warned that EMC, the No. 1 maker of storage systems for big companies, filed a complaint against it last month in federal court alleging patent infringement.
"We intend to vigorously defend against the allegations of the complaint. However, because the case is in its early stages, no assurance can be given that the litigation will be resolved in a manner that does not have a material adverse impact on our products or business," the filing said.
StorageApps filed to sell common shares. The number of shares to be sold and their price will be disclosed in a supplemental filing.
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter will underwrite the stock sale with Merrill Lynch and Morgan Keegan. The company wants to trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ''STRG.'' |
