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Story URL: http://www.silicon.com/research/specialreports/voip/0,3800004463,39153928,00.htm

Vonage mulls $600m IPO, $2bn buyout
Cash out when your tech's hot...

By Reuters

Published: Friday 04 November 2005

Vonage Holdings, a pioneer in selling internet-based phone services, is preparing for an initial public offering that could raise $600m and also is exploring a sale to a larger company for at least $2bn, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the paper said venture investors including Bain Capital, 3i Group, Meritech Capital Partners, Institutional Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates have poured $408m into Vonage, of Edison, New Jersey.

Vonage's value got a lift in September when eBay agreed to pay $2.6bn for Skype Technologies, an internet calling company whose revenue is a fraction of Vonage's.

Vonage so far this year has held exploratory talks with several potential suitors, including Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom, the paper said.

Traditional media companies and internet players also have expressed interest, the Journal reported.