Cyan looks toward IPO

Packet-optical transport system and software-defined networking (SDN) platform vendor Cyan, Inc. is preparing to brave the public markets. The company filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in hopes of launching an initial public offering (IPO) of common stock on the New York Stock Exchange.

Cyan plans to use the symbol CYNI. The company did not disclose the number of shares it expects to offer, their price, or the date of the proposed offering.

Headquartered in Petaluma, CA, and backed by Azure Capital Partners, Grande Ventures, Kinetic Ventures, Northwest Venture Partners, Telecom Development Fund, Tenaya Capital, and Juniper Networks, Cyan introduced its Z-Series packet-optical transport platforms in 2009 (see “Cyan Optics debuts company, packet optical transport platforms”). The company then moved into the software-based services arena with its Cy360 suite, which could be sold to companies that weren’t Z-Series customers (see “Cyan makes software move with CyPortal, Service Level Aware Network framework”). Cy360 evolved into Blue Planet, Cyan’s SDN offering (see “Cyan offers Blue Planet OpenFlow-based SDN capabilities”).

The company has raised over $70 million in funding. Cyan’s last funding round, a Series F, was announced in January 2012 (see “Cyan raises $10 million in Round F”).The company had revenue of $95.8 million (up 13% year-on-year) in 2012 and a net loss of $16.6 million, according to its filing with the SEC. Windstream is Cyan’s largest of Cyan’s more than 125 customers worldwide.

Goldman, Sachs & Co., and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC will be lead joint book-running managers for the proposed offering. Jefferies LLC will act as as a book-running manager and Pacific Crest Securities LLC as a co-manager.

For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.