Sunnyvale's Ruckus Goes Public Today

NBC Bay Area got a rare glimpse inside an IPO, where employees were enjoying waffles, bacon and champagne.

The mood was celebratory at Ruckus Wireless (RKUS) on Friday, the same day the Sunnyvale company went public.

NBC Bay Area got a rare glimpse of the headquarters on Java Avenue, where employees were enjoying waffles, bacon and champagne. Yes, champagne, all before 7 a.m.

CEO Selena Lo spoke to the happy crowd: "This is amazing, I love you all...Now get back to work."

Ruckus sold 8.4 million shares at $15 apiece, though shares dropped to between $13.50 and $14.50, until the end of the day, when the final closing quote came in at $12.25. Still, that offering raked in $126 million at a valuation of $1.2 billion. 

Lo recently talked to Forbes magazine about why going public makes sense, and about how the need for Wi-Fi is soaring, mostly because of smartphones and other mobile devices. Last year, Forbes noted that Ericsson lead the Wi-Fi market, but Ruckus has been the leader in the last two quarters. In October, Forbes said Ruckus posted a revenue of $93.9 million, and filed an $100 million public offering with the SEC. One of Ruckus' major competitors is Cisco.

The company, created with Lo's help in 2004 develops "carrier-class" Wi-Fi systems. Their systems are set up in many football stadiums, grocery stores and restaurant chains. Ruckus earned much fame when its Wi-Fi was used at the London Olympics.

In an October blog on the company website, Ruckus answered some questions the public might have about the company going public. Most of its answers are "no comment."

Here are two of the  question-and-answers"

Q: Once you go public, will you buy Cisco?

A: Really? No Comment.

Q: Are you going to stay private after going public?

A: No comment.

Click here to see a March interview on NBC Bay Area:

View more videos at: http://nbcbayarea.com.

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