Lancée il y a 7 ans comme l’une des nombreuses start-up de logiciels destinés à aider les entreprises à mesurer et réduire leur consommation d’énergie, la société américaine GridPoint avait d’abord démarré brillamment, en levant au total 220 millions de dollars. Elle est ainsi devenue l’une des deux start-up américaines du secteur les plus richement dotées, avec le spécialiste des compteurs intelligents Silver Spring Networks.
Début 2010, après avoir effectué quatre rachats entre 2007 et 2009, participant à la frénésie d’acquisitions dans le secteur, la société semblait patiner, mais elle a ensuite repris sa marche en avant.
GridPoint Inc., the Arlington company that develops technology to manage the nation’s electrical grid, is positioning itself for what could be the region’s next big initial public offering, possibly as soon as 2011. The 7-year-old company has raised more than $220 million in venture funds, so it needs a lucrative exit to pay off investors and generate funds for broadening its national footprint in the growing clean-technology sphere. GridPoint officials declined to comment, as did several of its investors. The company has not yet filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
But signs point to a coming IPO: The smart-grid company has taken on increasingly lucrative contracts — most recently a $28.7 million deal with the Postal Service — and made at least four acquisitions in the last three years. Over the past year, it has also beefed up its management team with executives who have experience taking companies public. Joe Chinnici, who joined in April as chief financial officer and executive vice president, helped prepare telecom equipment supplier Ciena for an IPO. Last summer, the company brought on John Spirtos from NeuStar Inc. as executive vice president and chief strategy officer. NeuStar hired Spirtos a year before it went public in 2005. Read more: GridPoint Inc. moves closer to possible IPO - Washington Business Journal
