EDF Ventures and the University of Michigan Wolverine Fund could be looking at a nice pay day.
The two funds, based in Ann Arbor, MI, are both investors in IntelePeer, which recently filed for an initial public offering that could fetch up to $100 million, according to documents filed with the SEC.
IntelePeer, based in San Mateo, CA, offers on demand, cloud-based data and communications services. The company generated $111.5 million in sales last year, compared to $43.3 million in 2008, according to the SEC filing.
EDF Ventures is one of IntelePeer’s largest investors, owning 4.4 million shares, or 8.2 percent of the company. EDF founder and managing director Mary Campbell formerly sat on IntelePeer’s board of directors.
The student-run Wolverine Fund, which Campbell advises, did not disclose its investment.
Tech IPOs are starting to show signs of life. Last year, 44 tech companies went public, compared to 163 in 2000. Investors expect around 60 IPOs this year, including the much anticipated LinkedIn offering. The professional networking site expects to raise as much as $274.4 million, according to a recent SEC document.
Investors are carefully watching LinkedIn’s IPO because it could indicate how Wall Street will receive other tech IPOs coming out of Silicon Valley, Jay Hoag, founding general partner of Technology Crossover Ventures in Pala Alto, CA, told a luncheon crowd at the annual Michigan Growth Capital Symposium.
“LinkedIn could be a bellweather, [an IPO] that could really reignite people’s enthusiasm,” says Hoag, a U-M business alumnus whose venture firm has backed Netflix, eHarmony, and RealNetworks.
Of course, that enthusiasm could lead to another bubble, Hoag says, earning laughs from the crowd.
