VMware IPO in the Offing

5:29 PM -- When EMC announced its plan for a VMware IPO in February, the ETA for initial filings was late March, early April. (See VMware to Spin Out.) Well, two weeks into April, we're still waiting.

"We expect to file shortly. We continue to be on schedule to IPO a portion of VMware this summer," writes EMC spokesperson Lesley Ogrodnick in an email today. Although EMC announces earnings before the market opens this coming Tuesday, she can't say anything about the specific timing.

But if EMC is expecting an early summer IPO, it best get going. Indeed, EMC's accountants are probably already working overtime to do so. According to analyst Brenon Daly of the 451 Group consultancy, launching the IPO requires getting the books in order and audited, and the SEC requires three years' of income and cash flow statements as well as the previous two years' balance sheets.

"Keep in mind once the bankers are selected and books are in order, they'll put in [the] S-1 and then it'll be 3-4 months before the spin actually makes it onto the market," writes Daly in an email.

So "early summer" may turn into fall before we actually see any action.A potential holdup could be EMC's selection of bankers. We imagine this particular "beauty contest" to be ferociously competitive, given the influence of the parties concerned and the current momentum of the storage market. Indeed, we'd love to be a fly on the wall wherever it's happening.

We'll have our ears primed in the halls at SNW in San Diego, so stay tuned.

Mary Jander, Site Editor, Byte and Switch