BlueArc Corporation, a provider of high-performance networked storage systems for businesses of all sizes, abandoned its plans for an initial public offering on Wednesday following its agreement to be acquired by Hitachi Data Systems for a reported $600 million.
The San Jose, CA-based data storage company, which was founded in 1998, has shipped over 2,000 systems to more than 750 customers to date. BlueArc booked $92 million in sales for the 12 months ended April 30, 2011, but remains unprofitable. The company's major shareholders included venture firms Meritech Capital Partners, Crosslink Capital, Investor Growth Capital and Morgenthaler Venture Partners.
The sector has seen strong M&A activity over the past year. Notable acquisitions include high performance networking company Force10 Networks, which was bought by Dell in July for a rumored $700 million, and data storage companies 3PAR (HP, $2.35 billion), Isilon Systems (EMC, $2.25 billion), and Compellent Technologies (Dell, $960 million).
BlueArc re-filed for a $100 million IPO in June. The company originally filed to go public in September 2007 but withdrew its planned offering in November 2008. J.P. Morgan, BofA Merrill Lynch, and Credit Suisse were set to be the lead underwriters on the deal.
