CDN Startup Limelight Files for IPO

Limelight Networks, a Content Delivery Network provider that competes with companies like Akamai, has filed its paperwork for an initial public offering. The company will be listed on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol LLNW, and hopes to raise up to $201 million according to the filing.

Alarm:clock reports that Limelight posted losses of $3.7 million on revenues of $64.3 million. The IPO is being underwritten by a number of investment banks including Goldman Sachs, which has already invested $130 million in the Phoenix-based company’s latest equity round.

Clients include Amazon, Brightcove, iFILM and MySpace. In an appearance on MarketWatch with Bambi Francisco last January, new CEO Jeff Lunsford talked about the “wave of content” that’s surging through the series of tubes, and the necessity to provide reliable high speed connections for video, music and game download services.

The announcement of an IPO filing wasn’t entirely unexpected by analysts in the wake of Lunsford’s hiring. The company announced a further restructuring of its board earlier this week.

While Google’s deal for YouTube is still the high tide line in the online video market, this is one of the first companies to attempt to cash in on the hype by going public. Whether or not Limelight gets to the markets will no doubt be closely watched by analysts and venture capitalists to see if IPOs can come back into vogue as a viable exit strategy.