Limelight Kicks Ass in IPO

Limelight Networks, the content delivery network focused on digital media and provider to many of the companies we write about, began trading on NASDAQ today. The Tempe, Arizona-based company sold 16 million shares of common stock for $15 to raise $240 million, and today closed up nearly 50 percent at $22.18.

At times the share price had jumped as much as 62 percent, according to Bloomberg. Limelight lost $3.71 million last year on sales of $64.3 million, but it has seen tremendous growth as more and more web video platforms and viewers are coming online.

Limelight faces a slew of new competitors, like Level 3 and Internap’s Vitalstream, who are ramping up their CDN operations. It has also been involved in a legal tussle with Akamai, the established market leader in the CDN industry.

The success of Limelight’s IPO amidst this fierce competition is more proof that CDNs are hot, and investors are willing to pay a premium price for these companies. Today Akamai also saw a boost from the market interest in CDNs, rising $3.37 to close the day at $45.60 a share.