The last time the window for initial public offerings was wide open, chipmaker Intellon tried — and failed — to squinch through. But with revenue and profit thresholds dropping for companies seeking to go public, Intellon is gearing up for a second try.

The company, which makes chips that enable broadband over power lines, filed last week to raise $100 million. Intellon, which says its annual sales are in the "tens of millions" of dollars, has raised $66 million in outside funding after a 2003 recapitalization, and it counts Intel Capital, BCE Capital, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Samsung Ventures as investors.

This time around, Intellon may be able to center its marketing message on so-called smart grid technology rather than BPL, which isn't widely used in the U.S., to excite potential investors. But by talking its chips can help utilities meter electricity and reduce demand during peak hours, Intellon can pitch itself as a place-your-money-on-the-table clean energy play. Will the market buy into the spin? The cleantech hype could offset Intellon's paltry $33.7 million in sales for 2006 and net loss of $7.8 million. After all, several other recent technology IPO candidates look remarkably similar. —Stacey Higginbotham

See Intellon's S-1
See December 2006 story from TheDeal.com
See September 2005 story from Tech Confidential
See recent post from Tech Confidential

Tags: IPO, semiconductors, vc, venture+capital