Vonage Raises A Ton More Cash; Still Avoiding The IPO

Venture Capital

from the get-big-fast dept

It’s been rumored for a while, but now comes the news that Vonage has raised $200 million just a few months after raising $100 million — most of which they apparently still have in the bank. So, why is this happening? Vonage clearly recognizes that they have something of a lead in the market, but there’s clearly a scramble to get big fast because most of the independent VoIP providers won’t be around very long. The only way to survive is to be completely entrenched by the time the incumbents really get their act together. However, there’s another issue that might be at work here, too. Vonage is one of those companies that’s been rumored as an IPO candidate, and if they need so much cash, the public markets must be tempting. However, there is a complicating factor that’s probably having an impact here. Vonage’s CEO, Jeffery Citron, ran into some trouble with the SEC a few years back for basically inventing “day trading” at Datek, but setting up trades in a fraudulent manner. There’s plenty of buzz going around that part of the settlement with Citron and the SEC forbids him from running a public company — which, for obvious reasons, makes it difficult for Vonage to go public. In that situation, the temptation must be to bring in as much money as possible as a private company.