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Table of Contents

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

x      QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2012

 

OR

 

o         TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the transition period from                      to                     

 

Commission file number: 001-34659

 

Meru Networks, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware

 

26-0049840

(State or Other Jurisdiction of

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Incorporation or Organization)

 

Identification Number)

 

894 Ross Drive

Sunnyvale, California 94089
(408) 215-5300

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number,
including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer o

 

Accelerated filer x

 

 

 

Non-accelerated filer o

 

 

(Do not check if a smaller reporting

 

Smaller reporting company o

company)

 

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No x

 

The number of shares of the registrant’s common stock, par value $0.0005, outstanding as of April 25, 2012 was 17,730,603.

 

 

 



Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS INC.

 

INDEX

 

 

Page No.

 

 

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

 

 

Item 1. Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

 

 

 

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 (unaudited)

4

 

 

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011 (unaudited)

5

 

 

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011 (unaudited)

6

 

 

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011 (unaudited)

7

 

 

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited)

8

 

 

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

28

 

 

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

37

 

 

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

37

 

 

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

 

 

 

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

38

 

 

Item 1A. Risk Factors

39

 

 

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

61

 

 

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

62

 

 

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

62

 

 

Item 5. Other Information

62

 

 

Item 6. Exhibits

63

 

 

Signatures

64

 

 

Exhibit Index

65

 

2



Table of Contents

 

Meru Networks is a registered trademark and the Meru Networks logo, AirFirewall, patented System Director, Virtual Cell, Virtual Port, MeruAssure and E(z)RF are trademarks of Meru Networks, Inc.

 

3



Table of Contents

 

Item 1. Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Unaudited)

(in thousands, except for share and per share amounts)

 

 

 

March 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2012

 

2011

 

ASSETS

 

 

 

 

 

CURRENT ASSETS:

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

36,555

 

$

35,259

 

Short-term investments

 

 

5,000

 

Accounts receivable, net

 

11,059

 

13,038

 

Inventory

 

7,617

 

6,548

 

Deferred inventory costs, current portion

 

58

 

86

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

866

 

912

 

Total current assets

 

56,155

 

60,843

 

Property and equipment, net

 

1,660

 

1,476

 

Goodwill

 

1,658

 

1,658

 

Intangible assets, net

 

621

 

693

 

Deferred inventory costs, net of current portion

 

14

 

26

 

Other assets

 

2,173

 

2,147

 

TOTAL ASSETS

 

$

62,281

 

$

66,843

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

 

 

 

 

CURRENT LIABILITIES:

 

 

 

 

 

Line of credit

 

$

6,850

 

$

 

Accounts payable

 

3,840

 

5,733

 

Accrued liabilities

 

15,970

 

12,394

 

Deferred revenue, current portion

 

11,133

 

11,764

 

Total current liabilities

 

37,793

 

29,891

 

Deferred revenue, net of current portion

 

4,306

 

4,481

 

Total liabilities

 

42,099

 

34,372

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies (Note 9)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY:

 

 

 

 

 

Preferred stock, $0.0005 par value - 5,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011

 

 

 

Common stock, $0.0005 par value - 150,000,000 shares authorized; 17,718,423 and 17,674,552 shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011

 

9

 

9

 

Additional paid-in capital

 

256,747

 

254,576

 

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

 

(170

)

(197

)

Accumulated deficit

 

(236,404

)

(221,917

)

Total stockholders’ equity

 

20,182

 

32,471

 

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

$

62,281

 

$

66,843

 

 

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

4



Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

(in thousands, except for share and per share amounts)

 

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

 

 

 

2012

 

2011

 

REVENUES:

 

 

 

 

 

Products

 

$

15,803

 

$

15,440

 

Support and services

 

3,558

 

3,140

 

Ratable products and services

 

50

 

1,571

 

Total revenues

 

19,411

 

20,151

 

COSTS OF REVENUES:

 

 

 

 

 

Products

 

5,454

 

5,711

 

Support and services

 

1,455

 

897

 

Ratable products and services

 

31

 

852

 

Total costs of revenues*

 

6,940

 

7,460

 

Gross margin

 

12,471

 

12,691

 

OPERATING EXPENSES:

 

 

 

 

 

Research and development*

 

3,871

 

3,422

 

Sales and marketing*

 

15,574

 

9,612

 

General and administrative*

 

5,033

 

2,918

 

Litigation reserve

 

2,350

 

 

Total operating expenses

 

26,828

 

15,952

 

Loss from operations

 

(14,357

)

(3,261

)

Interest expense, net

 

(29

)

(92

)

Other income, net

 

28

 

55

 

Loss before provision for income taxes

 

(14,358

)

(3,298

)

Provision for income taxes

 

129

 

77

 

Net loss

 

$

(14,487

)

$

(3,375

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss per share of common stock:

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted

 

$

(0.82

)

$

(0.20

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shares used in computing net loss per share of common stock:

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted

 

17,701,126

 

16,972,165

 

 


* Includes stock-based compensation expense as follows:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

 

 

 

2012

 

2011

 

Costs of revenues

 

$

96

 

$

66

 

Research and development

 

355

 

278

 

Sales and marketing

 

855

 

419

 

General and administrative

 

926

 

601

 

 

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

5



Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(Unaudited)

(in thousands)

 

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

 

 

 

2012

 

2011

 

Net loss

 

$

(14,487

)

$

(3,375

)

Other comprehensive loss, net of tax:

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign currency translation adjustment

 

27

 

45

 

Change in net unrealized gain on available-for-sale securities

 

 

(1

)

Other comprehensive loss, net of tax

 

27

 

44

 

Comprehensive loss

 

$

(14,460

)

$

(3,331

)

 

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

6



Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

(in thousands)

 

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

 

 

 

2012

 

2011

 

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss:

 

$

(14,487

)

$

(3,375

)

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation and amortization

 

265

 

146

 

Stock-based compensation

 

2,232

 

1,364

 

Amortization of debt issuance costs

 

 

26

 

Bad debt expense

 

41

 

5

 

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts receivable, net

 

1,938

 

(1,886

)

Inventory

 

(1,069

)

(307

)

Deferred inventory costs

 

40

 

510

 

Prepaid expenses and other assets

 

46

 

129

 

Accounts payable

 

(1,893

)

(860

)

Accrued liabilities

 

3,578

 

(1,327

)

Deferred revenue

 

(806

)

(1,910

)

Net cash used in operating activities

 

(10,115

)

(7,485

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase of property and equipment

 

(375

)

(168

)

Purchase of short-term investments

 

 

(4,997

)

Proceeds from maturities of short-term investments

 

5,000

 

4,998

 

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

 

4,625

 

(167

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:

 

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from exercise of stock options

 

5

 

1,532

 

Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards

 

(66

)

 

Proceeds from line of credit

 

6,850

 

 

Repayment of long-term debt

 

 

(1,407

)

Net cash provided by financing activities

 

6,789

 

125

 

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents

 

(3

)

12

 

NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

 

1,296

 

(7,515

)

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS - Beginning of period

 

35,259

 

62,270

 

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS - End of period

 

$

36,555

 

$

54,755

 

SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION:

 

 

 

 

 

Cash paid for interest

 

$

 

$

51

 

Cash paid for income taxes

 

$

135

 

$

73

 

 

See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

7



Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

 

1. Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

Business — Meru Networks, Inc. (“Meru”) was incorporated in Delaware in January 2002. Meru and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) develop and market a virtualized wireless Local Area Network (“LAN”) solution. The Company’s solution is built around its patented System Director ™ Operating System which runs on its controllers and access points. The Company offers additional products designed to deliver network management, diagnostics and security. The Company also offers support services related to its products, professional services, and training. Products and services are sold through value added resellers, and distributors, as well as the Company’s sales force.

 

Basis of Presentation — These unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) and applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) regarding interim financial reporting and include the accounts of Meru and its wholly owned subsidiaries. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in the financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. Accordingly, these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed on March 15, 2012. The condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2011, included herein, was derived from the audited consolidated financial statements as of that date.

 

The unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements and include all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for the fair presentation of the Company’s statement of financial position as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the Company’s results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, comprehensive loss for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, and its cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011. The results for the three months ended March 31, 2012 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2012. All references to March 31, 2012 or to the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011 in the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited.

 

Use of Estimates — The preparation of unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Such management estimates include implicit service periods for revenue recognition, litigation and settlement costs, other loss contingencies, sales returns and allowances, allowance for doubtful accounts, inventory valuation, reserve for warranty costs, valuation of deferred tax assets, and stock-based compensation expense. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and also on assumptions that it believes are reasonable. The Company assesses these estimates on a regular basis; however, actual results could materially differ from those estimates.

 

8



Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

Certain Significant Risks and Uncertainties — The Company is subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could have a material and adverse effect on the Company’s future financial position or results of operations, which risks and uncertainties include, among others: it expects to incur operating losses throughout 2012 which would result in lower cash balances on hand; any inability of the Company to raise additional funds or to do so on favorable terms; it may not be able to effect a smooth transition of the new Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”); it has a limited operating history; it may experience fluctuations in its revenues and operating results; any inability of the Company to compete in a rapidly evolving market and to respond quickly and effectively to changing market requirements; any inability of the Company to increase market awareness of its brand and products and develop and expand its sales channels; the continued development of demand for wireless networks; its long and unpredictable sales cycle; declining average sales prices for its products; varying gross margins of its products and services; any inability of the Company to forecast customer demand accurately in making purchase decisions; its reliance on channel partners to generate a substantial majority of its revenues and the potential failure of these partners to perform; any inability of the Company to protect its intellectual property rights; claims by others that the Company infringes their proprietary technology; new or modified regulations related to its products; and any inability of the Company to raise additional funds in the future.

 

Concentration of Supply Risk — The Company relies on third parties to manufacture its products, and depends on them for the supply and quality of its products. Quality or performance failures of the Company’s products or changes in its manufacturers’ financial or business condition could disrupt the Company’s ability to supply quality products to its customers and thereby have a material and adverse effect on its business and operating results. Some of the components and technologies used in the Company’s products are purchased and licensed from a single source or a limited number of sources. The loss of any of these suppliers may cause the Company to incur additional transition costs, result in delays in the manufacturing and delivery of its products, or cause it to carry excess or obsolete inventory and could cause it to redesign its products. The Company relies on a third party for the fulfillment of its customer orders, and the failure of this third party to perform could have an adverse effect upon the Company’s reputation and its ability to distribute its products, which could adversely affect the Company’s business.

 

Concentration of Credit Risk — Financial instruments that subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and accounts receivable. The Company maintains its cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments in fixed-income securities with financial institutions and invests in only high-quality credit instruments. Deposits held with banks may exceed the amount of insurance provided on such deposits. Credit risk with respect to accounts receivable in general is diversified due to the number of different entities comprising the Company’s customer base and their location throughout the world. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers and generally works with both large and small channel partners. The Company maintains reserves for estimated potential credit losses. As of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, one distributor customer accounted for 38% and 31% of the Company’s net accounts receivable. While balances outstanding with smaller partners have historically not been significant, one such party represents 17% of net accounts receivable as of March 31, 2012. The Company does not require collateral on accounts receivable. As of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the allowance for doubtful accounts was $175,000 and 134,000.

 

9



Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

Revenue Recognition —The Company’s revenues are derived primarily from hardware and software products and related support and services. The Company often enters into multiple deliverable arrangements and as such the elements of these arrangements are separated and valued based on their relative fair value. The majority of the Company’s products are networking communications hardware with embedded software components such that the software functions together with the hardware to provide the essential functionality of the product. Therefore, the Company’s hardware deliverables are considered to be non-software elements and are excluded from the scope of industry-specific software revenue recognition guidance. The Company’s products revenues also include revenues from the sale of stand-alone software products. Stand-alone software products may operate on the Company’s networking communications hardware, but are not considered essential to the functionality of the hardware. Sales of stand-alone software generally include a perpetual license to the Company’s software. Sales of stand-alone software continue to be subject to the industry-specific software revenue recognition guidance. Product support typically includes software updates on a when and if available basis, telephone and internet access to the Company’s technical support personnel and hardware support. Software updates provide customers with rights to unspecified software product upgrades and to maintenance releases and patches released during the term of the support period.

 

Certain arrangements with multiple deliverables continued to have stand-alone software elements that are subject to the existing software revenue recognition guidance along with non-software elements that are subject to the amended revenue accounting guidance. The revenue for these multiple deliverable arrangements is allocated to the stand-alone software elements as a group and the non-software elements based on the relative selling prices of all of the elements in the arrangement using the fair value hierarchy in the amended revenue accounting guidance.

 

For sales of stand-alone software after December 31, 2010 and for all transactions entered into prior to the year ending December 31, 2011, the Company recognizes revenue based on software revenue recognition guidance. Under the software revenue recognition guidance, the Company uses the residual method to recognize revenue when a product agreement includes one or more elements to be delivered at a future date and vendor specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) of the fair value of all undelivered elements exists. In the majority of the Company’s contracts, the only element that remains undelivered at the time of delivery of the product is support services. Under the residual method, the fair value of the undelivered elements is deferred and the remaining portion of the contract fee is recognized as products revenues. If evidence of the fair value of one or more undelivered elements does not exist, all revenue is generally deferred and recognized when delivery of those elements occurs or when fair value can be established. When the undelivered element for which the Company does not have VSOE of fair value is support, revenue for the entire arrangement is bundled and recognized ratably over the support period.

 

VSOE for elements of an arrangement is based upon the normal pricing and discounting practices for those services when sold separately. In determining VSOE, the Company requires that a substantial majority of the selling prices for an element falls within a reasonably narrow pricing range, generally evidenced by a substantial majority of such historical stand-alone transactions falling within a reasonably narrow range of the median rates. In addition, the Company considers major service groups, geographies, customer classifications, and other variables in determining VSOE.

 

Third-party evidence (“TPE”) is determined based on competitor prices for similar deliverables when sold separately. The Company is typically not able to determine TPE for its products or services. Generally, the Company’s go-to-market strategy differs from that of its peers and the Company’s offerings contain a significant level of differentiation such that the comparable pricing of products with similar functionality cannot be obtained. Furthermore, the Company is unable to reliably determine what similar competitor products’ selling prices are on a stand-alone basis.

 

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Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

When the Company is unable to establish the selling price of its non-software elements using VSOE or TPE, the Company uses estimated selling prices (“ESP”) in its allocation of arrangement consideration. The ESP is to determine the price at which the Company would transact a sale if the product or service were sold on a stand-alone basis. The Company determines ESP for a product or service by considering multiple factors including, but not limited to, pricing policies, internal costs, gross margin objectives, competitive landscapes, geographies, customer classes and distribution channels.

 

The Company regularly reviews VSOE and ESP and maintains internal controls over the establishment and updates of these estimates. There was not a material impact during the three months ended March 31, 2012 nor does the Company currently expect a material impact in the near term from changes in VSOE or ESP.

 

The Company recognizes revenues when all of the following have occurred: (1) the Company has entered into a legally binding arrangement with a customer; (2) delivery has occurred; (3) customer payment is deemed fixed or determinable and free of contingencies and significant uncertainties; and (4) collection is probable. The sales prices for the Company’s products are typically considered to be fixed or determinable at the inception of an arrangement. Delivery is considered to have occurred when product title has transferred to the customer, when the service or training has been provided, when software is delivered, or when the support period has lapsed. To the extent that agreements contain rights of return or acceptance provisions, revenues are deferred until the acceptance provisions or rights of return lapse.

 

The majority of the Company’s sales are generated through its distributors. Revenues from distributors with return rights are recognized when the distributor reports that the product has been sold through, provided that all other revenue recognition criteria have been met. The Company obtains sell-through information from these distributors. For transactions with all other distributors, the Company does not provide for rights of return and recognizes products revenues at the time of shipment, assuming all other revenue recognition criteria have been met.

 

Prior to April 1, 2008, the Company allowed some customers to receive support services outside of the contractual terms. Accordingly, the Company deferred and recognized revenues on all transactions, except for transactions with one customer, ratably over the economic life of the products sold as the Company determined that this was the best estimate of the period of time over which the Company provided these support services. The one exception relates to a customer for which the Company established VSOE of fair value for the related support contracts during the year ended December 31, 2007. Accordingly, the Company began to account for these support contracts as separate elements from the hardware sales.

 

The Company estimated the economic life of the hardware to be three and a half years based on several factors such as: (1) the history of technology development of related products; (2) a Company-specific evaluation of product life cycles from both a sales and product development perspective; and (3) information on customer usage of the Company’s products.

 

11



Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

On April 1, 2008, the Company ceased providing support services outside of the contractual terms. As a result, the Company began recognizing ratable revenues from sales in which VSOE of fair value for the related support services had not been established over the contractual support period and not the three and a half year economic life of the product. Also on April 1, 2008, the Company established VSOE of fair value for its support services to distributors. Accordingly, the Company recognized revenues from sales to distributors after this date and prior to January 1, 2011 using the residual method, assuming all revenue recognition criteria were met.

 

On January 1, 2009, the Company established VSOE of fair value for all its remaining support services. Accordingly, the Company recognized revenues for other than support services for all sales made on and after January 1, 2009 and prior to January 1, 2011 using the residual method, assuming all revenue recognition criteria were met.

 

Revenues for support services are recognized on a straight-line basis over the support period, which typically ranges from one year to five years.

 

Shipping charges billed to customers are included in products revenues and the related shipping costs are included in costs of products revenues.

 

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets — The Company evaluates its long-lived assets for indicators of possible impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Impairment exists if the carrying amounts of such assets exceed the estimates of future net undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by such assets. Should impairment exist, the impairment loss would be measured based on the excess carrying value of the asset over the asset’s estimated fair value. As of March 31, 2012, the Company has not written down any of its long-lived assets as a result of impairment.

 

Goodwill Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired in a business combination. The Company reviews goodwill for impairment on an annual basis or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. The Company uses a two-step impairment test. In the first step, the Company compares the fair value of the reporting unit to its carrying value. The fair value of the reporting unit is determined using the market approach. If the fair value of the reporting unit exceeds the carrying value of net assets of the reporting unit, goodwill is not impaired, and the Company is not required to perform further testing. If the carrying value of the net assets of the reporting unit exceeds the fair value of the reporting unit, then the Company must perform the second step in order to determine the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill and compare it to the carrying value of the reporting unit’s goodwill. If the carrying value of a reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, then the Company we must record an impairment charge equal to the difference. The Company has determined that it has a single reporting unit for purposes of performing its goodwill impairment test. The Company performs the annual impairment test in the second quarter of its fiscal year. As the Company uses the market approach to assess impairment, the price of its common stock price is an important component of the fair value calculation. If its stock price continues to experience significant price and volume fluctuations, this will impact the fair value of the reporting unit, which can lead to potential impairment in future periods. As of March 31, 2012, the Company had not identified any factors that indicated there was an impairment of its goodwill and determined that no additional impairment analysis was required.

 

12



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MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

Loss Contingencies The Company is or has been subject to proceedings, lawsuits and other claims arising in the ordinary course of business. The Company evaluates contingent liabilities, including threatened or pending litigation, for potential losses. If the potential loss from any claim or legal proceedings is considered probable and the amount can be estimated, the Company accrues a liability for the estimated loss. Because of uncertainties related to these matters, accruals are based upon the best information available. As additional information becomes available, the Company reassesses the potential liability related to pending claims and litigation and may revise its estimates, which could materially impact its consolidated financial statement.

 

Warranty — The Company provides a warranty on product sales and estimated warranty costs are recorded during the period of sale. The Company establishes warranty reserves based on estimates of product warranty return rates and expected costs to repair or to replace the products under warranty. The warranty provision is recorded as a component of costs of products revenues in the condensed consolidated statements of operations.

 

Accrued warranty, which is included in accrued liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheets, as of March 31, 2012 is as follows (in thousands):

 

 

 

March 31,
2012

 

Accrued warranty balance — beginning of period

 

$

662

 

Warranty costs incurred

 

(46

)

Provision for warranty

 

95

 

Accrued warranty balance — end of period

 

$

711

 

 

2. Inventory

 

Inventory as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 is as follows (in thousands):

 

 

 

March 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2012

 

2011

 

Finished goods

 

$

6,854

 

$

5,670

 

Channel inventory

 

763

 

878

 

Inventory

 

$

7,617

 

$

6,548

 

 

3. Net Loss Per Share of Common Stock

 

The Company’s basic net loss per share of common stock is calculated by dividing the net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period. The weighted-average number of shares of common stock used to calculate the Company’s basic net loss per share of common stock excludes stock awards prior to vesting and also those shares subject to repurchase related to stock options that were exercised prior to vesting as these shares are not deemed to be issued for accounting purposes until they vest. The diluted net loss per share of common stock is calculated by giving effect to all potential common stock equivalents outstanding for the period determined using the treasury-stock method. For purposes of the diluted shares outstanding calculation, stock options to purchase common stock, common stock subject to repurchase, and warrants to purchase common stock are considered to be common stock equivalents. In periods in which the Company has reported a net loss, the common stock equivalents have been excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share of common stock as their effect is antidilutive.

 

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MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

The following outstanding shares of common stock and common stock equivalents were excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share of common stock for the periods presented because including them would have been antidilutive:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

 

 

 

2012

 

2011

 

Stock awards and stock options to purchase common stock *

 

4,779,144

 

2,592,625

 

Common stock subject to repurchase

 

65

 

1,900

 

Common stock warrants

 

2,723,957

 

2,762,494

 

 


* Includes 169,106 and 79,055 shares, which were expected to be issued pursuant to the Company’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan as of March 31, 2012 and 2011, based on employee enrollment.

 

4. Fair Value of Financial Instruments

 

As a basis for determining the fair value of certain of the Company’s assets and liabilities, the Company established a three-tier value hierarchy which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows: (Level I) observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets; (Level II) inputs other than the quoted prices in active markets that are observable either directly or indirectly; and (Level III) unobservable inputs in which there is little or no market data that requires the Company to develop its own assumptions. This hierarchy requires the Company to use observable market data, when available, and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs when determining fair value. The Company’s financial assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis consist of cash equivalents and short-term investments. The Company’s liability that is measured at fair value on a recurring basis consists of an earn-out consideration in connection with the acquisition of Identity Networks, Inc., described below.

 

Level I instrument valuations are obtained from quotes for transactions in active exchange markets involving identical assets. Level II instrument valuations are obtained from readily-available pricing sources for comparable instruments. The Company’s cash equivalents and short-term investments are valued using market prices on active markets (Level I) and less active markets (Level II).  Pricing is provided by third party sources of market information obtained through the Company’s investment advisors rather than models. The Company does not adjust for or apply any additional assumptions or estimates to the pricing information it receives from advisors. The Company’s Level II securities include cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities, which consisted primarily of certificates of deposit, corporate debt, and government agency and municipal debt securities from issuers with high quality credit ratings. The Company’s investment advisors obtain pricing data from independent sources, such as Standard & Poor’s, Bloomberg and Interactive Data Corporation, and rely on comparable pricing of other securities because the Level II securities it holds are not actively traded and have fewer observable transactions. The Company considers this the most reliable information available for the valuation of the securities. The Company had no transfers between Level I and Level II during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011.

 

The Company’s earn-out consideration liability as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 was classified within Level III of the fair value hierarchy. Level III assets and liabilities are valued using unobservable inputs to the valuation methodology that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the measurement of the fair value of the assets or liabilities. Level III assets and liabilities include those whose fair value measurements are determined using pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies or similar valuation techniques, as well as significant management judgment or estimation.

 

14



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MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

As of March 31, 2012, the Company’s fair value hierarchy for its financial assets and liabilities was as follows (in thousands):

 

 

 

March 31, 2012

 

 

 

Quoted Prices in Active
Markets for Identical
Instruments

 

Significant Other 
Observable

 

Significant
Unobservable

 

Total

 

 

 

(Level I)

 

(Level II)

 

(Level III)

 

Fair Value

 

Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Money market funds

 

$

25,111

 

$

 

$

 

$

25,111

 

Liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earn-out consideration liability

 

$

 

$

 

$

150

 

$

150

 

 

As of December 31, 2011, the Company’s fair value hierarchy for its financial assets and liabilities was as follows (in thousands):

 

 

 

December 31, 2011

 

 

 

Quoted Prices in Active
Markets for Identical
Instruments

 

Significant Other
Observable

 

Significant
Unobservable

 

Total

 

 

 

(Level I)

 

(Level II)

 

(Level III)

 

Fair Value

 

Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Money market funds

 

$

30,027

 

$

 

$

 

$

30,027

 

U.S. government securities

 

$

 

$

5,000

 

$

 

$

5,000

 

Liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Earn-out consideration liability

 

$

 

$

 

$

300

 

$

300

 

 

The following table provides a summary of changes in fair value of the Company’s earn-out consideration liability measured at fair value using significant unobservable inputs (Level III) for the three months ended March 31, 2012 (in thousands):

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

 

 

March 31, 2012

 

Balance as of beginning of period

 

$

300

 

Earn-out consideration payment

 

(150

)

Balance as of end of period

 

$

150

 

 

The earn-out consideration liability is included in accrued liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheets.

 

15



Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

5. Acquisition of Identity Networks

 

On August 31, 2011, the Company acquired all of the outstanding shares of Identity Networks (“Identity”), a privately-owned provider of complete guest and device access management solutions located in the United Kingdom. Under the terms of the share purchase agreement, at closing, the Company paid approximately $2.0 million, net of cash acquired, to Identity shareholders. An additional $0.1 million was paid to Identity shareholders in October 2011 due to a working capital adjustment. In addition, the Company agreed to pay up to $0.4 million to the former shareholders of Identity within six months of the acquisition date as earn-out consideration based on Identity meeting certain contractually agreed-upon development milestones, of which $100,000 was paid in November 2011, $150,000 was paid in January 2012 and the final payment of $150,000 is scheduled to be paid in April 2012. The Company assessed the probability of the earn-out milestones being met and included the estimated fair value of those milestones, as adjusted for the time-value of money, in the acquisition price.

 

The Company recorded the total acquisition price as follows (in thousands):

 

Cash

 

$

2,117

 

Contingent consideration at estimated fair value on closing date

 

369

 

Total

 

$

2,486

 

 

The allocation of the acquisition price for net tangible and intangible assets was as follows (in thousands):

 

Net tangible assets

 

$

38

 

Identifiable intangible assets:

 

 

 

Developed technology

 

630

 

Customer relationships

 

160

 

Goodwill

 

1,658

 

Total

 

$

2,486

 

 

The developed technology asset is attributable to products which have reached technological feasibility. The customer relationships asset is attributable to the Company’s ability and intent to sell existing in process and future versions of the acquired products to the existing customers of Identity. The value of the identified intangible assets was determined by discounting the estimated net future cash flows from the acquired products and customer agreements based on valuation technologies accepted in the technology industry. The Company is amortizing the developed technology and customer relationships assets on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives of three and two years, respectively.

 

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price of an acquired business over the fair value of the underlying net tangible and intangible assets and is not deductible for tax purposes. Among the factors that contributed to a purchase price in excess of the fair value of the net tangible and identified intangible assets was the acquisition of an assembled workforce of experienced engineers, synergies in products, technologies, skill sets, operations, customer base and organizational cultures that can be leveraged to enable the Company to build an enterprise greater than the sum of its parts.

 

The Company has included the financial results of Identity in the Company’s consolidated financial statements commencing at the acquisition date. No pro forma information was presented based on the determination that the acquisition is not significant to the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 

16



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MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

6. Intangible Assets

 

Intangible assets acquired are accounted for based on the fair value of assets purchased and are amortized over the period in which economic benefit is estimated to be received. Identifiable intangible assets were as follows (in thousands):

 

 

 

As of March 31, 2012

 

 

 

Estimated

 

Gross

 

Accumulated

 

Net

 

 

 

Useful Life

 

Value

 

Amortization

 

Value

 

Developed technology

 

3 years

 

$

630

 

$

(122

)

$

508

 

Customer relationships

 

2 years

 

160

 

(47

)

113

 

Total

 

 

 

$

790

 

$

(169

)

$

621

 

 

 

 

As of December 31, 2011

 

 

 

Estimated

 

Gross

 

Accumulated

 

Net

 

 

 

Useful Life

 

Value

 

Amortization

 

Value

 

Developed technology

 

3 years

 

$

630

 

$

(70

)

$

560

 

Customer relationships

 

2 years

 

160

 

(27

)

133

 

Total

 

 

 

$

790

 

$

(97

)

$

693

 

 

The Company recorded amortization expense related to these identified intangible assets in the condensed consolidated statements of operations as follows (in thousands):

 

 

 

Three Months Ended

 

 

 

March 31, 2012

 

Costs of products revenues

 

$

52

 

Sales and marketing

 

20

 

Total amortization expense

 

$

72

 

 

As of March 31, 2012, the estimated aggregate future amortization expense in future years is as follows (in thousands):

 

Fiscal Years:

 

 

 

2012 (remainder)

 

$

218

 

2013

 

263

 

2014

 

140

 

Total

 

$

621

 

 

7. Cost Method Investments

 

During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company invested $1.3 million in a company which is developing value-added applications that are designed to allow its customers to achieve greater benefit from wireless networks such as those offered by the Company. The investment of $1.3 million is included in other assets. This investee was co-founded by Dr. Vaduvur Bharghavan, a co-founder of the Company and a member of the Company’s board of directors.

 

17



Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

The Company uses the cost method to account for this investment due to (i) the Company’s investment representing approximately 16% equity ownership of the investee (ii) Dr. Bharghavan, who is the co-founder of the investee, transitioned from his day to day role as the Company’s Chief Technology Officer during the year ended December 31, 2011, and (iii) Dr. Bharghavan, who remains the member of the Company’s board of directors, ceased receiving any cash compensation for his role as an executive of the Company as of May 2011. The Company does not have the ability to exercise significant influence over the investee’s operating and financial policies.

 

Equity investments, especially equity investments in private companies are inherently risky. Many factors, including technical and product development challenges, market acceptance, competition, additional funding availability and the overall economy, could cause the investment to be impaired. The Company monitors the indicators of impairment. In the event that the fair value of the investment is below its carrying value and the impairment is other-than-temporary, the Company writes down the investment to its fair value. During the three months ended March 31, 2012, there were no indicators of impairment. The Company has not elected the fair value option for this investment.

 

8. Line of Credit

 

In January 2007, the Company entered into a debt agreement, which included a working capital line of credit of $5.0 million. This debt agreement was later amended to increase the working capital line of credit up to $7.0 million based on eligible accounts receivable. The debt agreement is collateralized by substantially all of the Company’s assets. As of March 31, 2012, the working capital line of credit bore interest at the lenders’ prime rate which is currently 3.25% and expires on May 31, 2012. As of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the total amount outstanding under the line of credit was $6.9 million and zero. As of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the Company had unused amounts under the line of credit of zero and up to $7.0 million.

 

9. Commitments and Contingencies

 

Legal Matters

 

On April 13, 2012, the Company and Extricom Ltd. (“Extricom”) entered into a settlement, license and release agreement (the “Extricom Agreement”). Pursuant to the Extricom Agreement, the Company and Extricom each agreed to:

 

·        Provide one another with perpetual, fully paid up, non-exclusive worldwide licenses to each of their respective patent portfolios as of the settlement date; and

 

·        Release one another of certain claims based on infringement or alleged infringement of certain patent rights; including dismissal of current litigation.

 

As part of the Extricom Agreement, the Company paid Extricom $2.4 million in April 2012.

 

18



Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

In evaluating the accounting treatment for this transaction, the Company identified the following specific items the Company received from the Extricom Agreement: (1) release of past infringement claims and (2) a license to Extricom technology. The Company does not believe the Extricom license will provide future value as the Company does not plan to utilize the underlying technology in any future product development. In addition, the Extricom Agreement released and avoided certain litigation for the Company, but provided no other future benefits to the Company. Therefore, the Company expensed the full $2.4 million in the first quarter of the Company’s fiscal year 2012.

 

Operating Leases — The Company leases office space for its headquarters in Sunnyvale, California under a noncancelable operating lease that expires in 2015. In addition, the Company leases space for a research and development facility in Bangalore, India pursuant to an operating lease that expires in 2016, which is noncancelable prior to 2014. The Company has the option to renew the lease for an additional five years. The Company also leases office space for sales offices in multiple locations around the world under noncancelable operating leases that expire at various dates.

 

 

 

Operating Leases

 

Fiscal Years:

 

 

 

2012 (remainder)

 

$

1,113

 

2013

 

1,342

 

2014

 

1,105

 

2015

 

132

 

Total

 

$

3,692

 

 

Other commitments as of March 31, 2012 totaled approximately $10.2 million and consisted of inventory and other non-cancelable purchase obligations.

 

Litigation  — The Company is subject to various claims arising in the ordinary course of business. Although no assurance may be given, the Company believes that it is not presently a party to any litigation of which the outcome, if determined adversely, would individually or in the aggregate be reasonably expected to have a material and adverse effect on the business, operating results, cash flows or financial position of the Company.

 

On May 11, 2010, Extricom Ltd., filed suit against the Company in the Federal District Court of Delaware asserting infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,697,549.  Also on May 11, 2010, the Company filed a declaratory relief action against Extricom Ltd. in the Federal District Court for Northern California seeking a declaration that the Company is not infringing the Extricom Ltd. patent and that the patent is invalid. The declaratory relief action in the Northern District of California was dismissed by the Court on August 31, 2010 in favor of the Delaware action on the ground that Extricom Ltd. filed its suit in the Federal District Court of Delaware first. On October 7, 2010, the Company filed a motion to transfer the Delaware action to the Northern District of California based upon the convenience of witnesses and in the interests of justice.  On April 13, 2012, the parties entered into a settlement, license and release agreement where the Company has agreed to a one-time payment of approximately $2.4 million to Extricom Ltd., as well as a cross-license of each party’s patents in exchange for a full release and settlement of the litigation.  On April 17, 2012 the parties filed a joint stipulation to dismiss in the Federal District Court of Delaware to dismiss the litigation between the parties, which dismissal was accepted and ordered by the Court on April 23, 2012.

 

19



Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

On October 22, 2010, EON Corp. IP Holdings, LLC (“Eon”), filed suit against the Company and several other defendants in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas asserting infringement of U.S. Patent No. 5,592,491.  EON has amended its complaint to add additional defendants and to add specificity to certain of its claims.  The Company’s response to the amended complaint was filed on March 7, 2011, denying the allegations of the complaint, and asserting that the EON patent is not infringed and is invalid. One of the co-defendants in the action filed a motion to transfer the case to the Northern District of California, and the Company joined in the motion to transfer.  On February 29, 2012, the case was transferred to the Northern District of California.  No case schedule has been set in the California action. The EON amended complaint seeks unspecified monetary damages and injunctive relief.  At this time, the Company is unable to determine the outcome of this matter and, accordingly, cannot estimate the potential financial impact this action could have on its business, results of operations, cash flows and financial position.

 

On June 2, 2011, the United States International Trade Commission instituted a Section 337 Investigation, based on allegations that Linex Technologies, Inc.’s (“Linex”) U.S. Patents relating to multiple-input-multiple-output technology are infringed by 802.11n products imported and sold by the Company—as well as by the Hewlett-Packard Company, Apple, Inc., Aruba Networks, Inc. and Ruckus Wireless, Inc.  On April 2, 2012, Linex filed a motion to terminate the investigation based on withdrawal of the complaint.   On April 3, 2012, Administrative Law Judge Thomas B. Pender granted Linex’s motion and as a result, the investigation has been terminated in its entirety.

 

Third parties have from time to time claimed, and others may claim in the future that the Company has infringed their past, current or future intellectual property rights. These claims, whether meritorious or not, could be time-consuming, result in costly litigation, require expensive changes in the Company’s methods of doing business or could require the Company to enter into costly royalty or licensing agreements, if available. As a result, these claims could harm the Company’s business, operating results, cash flows and financial position.

 

Indemnifications  — Under the indemnification provisions of the Company’s standard sales contracts, the Company agrees to defend its customers against third-party claims asserting infringement of certain intellectual property rights, which may include patents, copyrights, trademarks, or trade secrets, and to pay any judgments entered on such claims. The exposure to the Company under these indemnification provisions is generally limited to the total amount paid by the customer under the agreement. However, certain agreements include indemnification provisions that could potentially expose the Company to losses in excess of the amount received under the agreement. To date, there have been no material claims under such indemnification provisions.

 

20



Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

10. Warrants for Common Stock

 

In 2009, the Company issued warrants to purchase 4,007,432 shares of common stock. During 2010, the Company issued another warrant to purchase 36,582 shares of common stock as a result of the exercise of a Series E warrant.  These common stock warrants were exercisable immediately, have exercise prices ranging from $9.78 to $11.74 and expire in 2014. There were no exercises during the three months ended March 31, 2012. As of March 31, 2012, warrants to purchase 2,723,957 shares of common stock have not been exercised and were still outstanding.

 

11. Equity Incentive Plans

 

The Company’s equity incentive plans are broad-based retention programs. The plans are intended to attract talented employees, directors and non-employee consultants. In March 2010, the Company’s board of directors and its stockholders approved the 2010 Stock Incentive Plan (the “2010 Plan”). A total of 1,846,154 shares of common stock plus any shares reserved and not issued or subject to outstanding grants under the Company’s 2002 Stock Incentive Plan were reserved for future issuance under the 2010 Plan, which became effective upon the completion of the Company’s initial public offering (“IPO”) on April 6, 2010. The 2010 Plan provides for the granting of stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units and stock appreciation rights. The number of shares reserved for issuance under the 2010 Plan will be increased on the first day of each of the Company’s fiscal years by the lesser of 4% of the Company’s outstanding common stock on the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal year or the number of shares determined by the board of directors. In 2011, shares equal to 4% of the outstanding shares of the Company on December 31, 2010, or 653,512 shares, were registered and reserved for issuance under the 2010 Plan. In addition, an amendment to the Company’s 2010 Stock Incentive Plan to add an additional 700,000 shares to the number of shares of common stock authorized for issuance under the Company’s 2010 Stock Incentive Plan was approved at the Company’s 2011 shareholder meeting. During the three months ended March 31, 2012, shares equal to 4% of the outstanding shares of the Company on December 31, 2011, or 706,982 shares, were registered and reserved for issuance under the 2010 Plan.

 

The Company’s stock-based compensation expense was $2.2 million and $1.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011. The total stock-based compensation expense consisted of stock-based compensation expense for stock options and awards granted to employees of $2.2 million and $1.4 million and nonemployees of $3,000 and zero for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011.

 

Determining Fair Value of Stock Options

 

The fair value of stock options granted during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011 were determined by the Company using the methods and assumptions discussed below. Each of these inputs is subjective and generally requires significant judgment to determine.

 

Valuation Method — The Company estimates the fair value of stock options granted using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model.

 

Expected Term — The expected term represents the period that the Company’s stock-based awards are expected to be outstanding. The expected term is derived from historical data on employee exercises and post-vesting employment termination behavior taking into account the contractual life of the award.

 

Expected Volatility — The expected volatility was based on the historical stock volatilities of several of the Company’s publicly listed peers over a period equal to the expected terms of the options as the Company did not have a sufficient trading history to use the volatility of its own common stock.

 

21



Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

Fair Value of Common Stock — Prior to the Company’s IPO, the fair value of the shares of common stock underlying the stock options was determined by the board of directors because there was no public market for the Company’s common stock. The board of directors therefore determined fair value of the common stock at the time of grant of the option by considering a number of objective and subjective factors including valuation of comparable companies, sales of convertible preferred stock to unrelated third parties, operating and financial performance, the lack of liquidity of capital stock and general and industry specific economic outlook, amongst other factors. Following the IPO, the fair value of the underlying common stock is based on the list price for the Company’s common stock as noted on the NASDAQ on the grant date.

 

Risk-Free Interest Rate — The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant for zero coupon U.S. Treasury notes with maturities approximately equal to the option’s expected term.

 

Expected Dividend — The Company has never paid dividends and does not expect to pay dividends.

 

Forfeiture Rate — The Company estimates its forfeiture rate based on an analysis of its actual forfeitures and will continue to evaluate the adequacy of the forfeiture rate based on actual forfeiture experience, analysis of employee turnover behavior, and other factors. The impact from a forfeiture rate adjustment will be recognized in full in the period of adjustment, and if the actual number of future forfeitures differs from that estimated by the Company, the Company may be required to record adjustments to stock-based compensation expense in future periods.

 

Summary of Assumptions — The fair value of each employee stock option was estimated at the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model, with the following weighted-average assumptions for grants of options during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

 

 

 

2012

 

2011

 

Dividend rate

 

0

%

0

%

Risk-free interest rate

 

1.1

%

2.3

%

Expected life (in years)

 

5.1

 

5.0

 

Expected volatility

 

58.6

%

58.2

%

 

A summary of the Company’s stock award activity during the three months ended March 31, 2012 is presented below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted-

 

Average

 

Aggregate

 

 

 

Shares

 

Number

 

Average

 

Remaining

 

Intrinsic

 

 

 

Available

 

of Stock Options

 

Exercise

 

Contractual

 

Value

 

 

 

for Grant

 

Outstanding

 

Price

 

Life (Years)

 

(in thousands)

 

Outstanding — January 1, 2012

 

1,312,029

 

3,140,283

 

$

9.04

 

8.4

 

$

295

 

Additional shares authorized

 

706,982

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Options granted

 

(229,950

)

229,950

 

4.50

 

 

 

 

 

Inducement option granted

 

 

600,000

 

4.62

 

 

 

 

 

Restricted stock granted

 

(265,259

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Repurchased

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forfeited options

 

307,363

 

(307,363

)

9.56

 

 

 

 

 

Forfeited restricted stock

 

41,919

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercised options

 

 

(5,469

)

1.05

 

 

 

 

 

Outstanding — March 31, 2012

 

1,873,084

 

3,657,401

 

$

7.98

 

8.2

 

$

309

 

Vested and expected to vest — March 31, 2012

 

 

 

2,244,449

 

$

7.93

 

7.6

 

$

277

 

Vested — March 31, 2012

 

 

 

1,161,751

 

$

8.49

 

5.9

 

$

246

 

 

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MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

During the quarter ended March 31, 2012, the Company granted options to purchase 600,000 shares of common stock to Dr. Bami Bastani, CEO, under the Inducement Stock Option Plan and Agreement, which is separate from the 2010 Plan, as a material inducement to the acceptance of employment with the Company. The grant was approved by the Company’s compensation committee of the board of directors, as specified under the Listing Rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market.

 

The aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised was $18,000 and $6.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, determined as of the date of option exercise.

 

Additional information regarding the Company’s stock options outstanding and vested as of March 31, 2012 is summarized below:

 

 

 

Options Outstanding

 

Options Vested and Exercisable

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted-Average

 

Weighted-

 

 

 

Weighted-

 

 

 

 

 

Remaining

 

Average

 

 

 

Average

 

 

 

 

 

Contractual Life

 

Exercise

 

 

 

Exercise

 

Exercise Prices

 

Shares

 

(Years)

 

Price per Share

 

Shares

 

Price per Share

 

$0.91 - $6.50

 

1,702,234

 

9.0

 

$

4.65

 

273,120

 

$

3.78

 

$6.51 - $8.67

 

1,020,862

 

6.9

 

$

7.87

 

561,696

 

$

7.87

 

$8.68 - $15.18

 

424,752

 

7.4

 

$

10.43

 

182,775

 

$

10.15

 

$15.19 - $21.68

 

509,553

 

8.6

 

$

17.29

 

144,160

 

$

17.67

 

 

 

3,657,401

 

8.2

 

$

7.98

 

1,161,751

 

$

8.49

 

 

As of March 31, 2012, total compensation cost related to unvested stock-based awards granted to employees, but not yet recognized, was $7.2 million, net of estimated forfeitures. This cost will be amortized on a straight-line basis over a weighted-average remaining period of 2.5 years and will be adjusted for subsequent changes in estimated forfeitures. Future option grants will increase the amount of compensation expense that will be recorded.

 

Restricted Stock Awards and Restricted Stock Units— The Company issued restricted stock awards (“RSAs”) and restricted stock units (“RSUs”) to employees and members of the board of directors. These restricted shares will vest from three months to four years from the date of issuance if the employees or directors, as applicable, remain with the Company for the duration of the vesting period. Some RSUs are performance based awards; therefore, the vesting of these RSUs is subject to the achievement of specific performance metrics in addition to continued service. The Company issued 365,259 and 130,500 shares of RSUs during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011. The Company did not issue RSAs during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011. The Company recognized stock-based compensation in the amount of $0.9 million and $0.3 million for RSAs and RSUs during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011.

 

A summary of the Company’s RSA activity during the three months ended March 31, 2012 is presented below:

 

 

 

Number

 

Weighted

 

Aggregate

 

 

 

of Restricted

 

Average Grant

 

Intrinsic

 

 

 

Stock Awards

 

Date Fair

 

Value

 

 

 

Outstanding

 

Value

 

(in thousands)

 

Outstanding — January 1, 2012

 

3,600

 

$

13.73

 

$

15

 

Restricted stock awards granted

 

 

 

 

 

Restricted stock awards released

 

 

 

 

 

Restricted stock awards forfeited

 

 

 

 

 

Outstanding — March 31, 2012

 

3,600

 

$

13.73

 

$

15

 

 

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MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

A summary of the Company’s RSU activity during the three months March 31, 2012 is presented below:

 

 

 

Number

 

Weighted

 

Aggregate

 

 

 

of Restricted

 

Average Grant

 

Intrinsic

 

 

 

Stock Units

 

Date Fair

 

Value

 

 

 

Outstanding

 

Value

 

(in thousands)

 

Outstanding — January 1, 2012

 

645,685

 

$

12.24

 

$

2,667

 

Restricted stock units granted

 

365,259

 

4.45

 

 

 

Restricted stock units released

 

(19,988

)

18.00

 

 

 

Restricted stock units forfeited

 

(41,919

)

17.19

 

 

 

Outstanding — March 31, 2012

 

949,037

 

$

8.75

 

$

3,698

 

 

During the quarter ended March 31, 2012, the Company granted to Dr. Bami Bastani, CEO, 50,000 shares of restricted stock units under the Service-Based Restricted Stock Unit Plan and Agreement and 50,000 shares of restricted stock units under the Performance-Based Restricted Stock Unit Plan and Agreement, which is separate from the 2010 Plan, as a material inducement to the acceptance of employment with the Company. The grants were approved by the Company’s compensation committee of the board of directors, as specified under the Listing Rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market.

 

Common Stock Subject to Repurchase — Prior to its IPO, the Company had allowed employees to exercise options prior to vesting.  The Company has the right to repurchase these options at the original purchase price paid by the employee for any unvested (but issued) shares of common stock upon the termination of the employee. The consideration received for an exercise of an option is considered to be a deposit of the exercise price and the related dollar amount is recorded as a liability on the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The shares and liability are reclassified into equity on a pro rata basis as the options vest. The shares subject to repurchase are not deemed to be issued for accounting purposes until those shares vest.

 

The shares of common stock subject to repurchase issued pursuant to the exercise of options prior to vesting for the three months ended March 31, 2012 are as follows:

 

 

 

Shares

 

Unvested shares — January 1, 2012

 

104

 

Vesting of options exercised early

 

(39

)

Unvested shares — March 31, 2012

 

65

 

 

Stock Option Activity for Nonemployee Consultants — During the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company did not issue options to purchase common stock to nonemployees. The Company did not recognize stock-based compensation expenses related to nonemployees during the three months ended March 31, 2011. In 2011, the Company issued options to nonemployees for the purchase of 2,000 shares of common stock in exchange for services. These options were issued with an exercise price of $5.54 per share during the year ended December 31, 2011. These options generally vest monthly over three months to four years as long as consulting services are still being provided to the Company. The Company accounts for nonemployee consultant options based on the fair value of the awards as they vest. The options were valued using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model using the remaining contractual term as the expected term. Total stock-based compensation related to nonemployees was $3,000 and zero for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011.

 

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MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

Employee Stock Purchase Plan — In March 2010, the Company’s board of directors approved the 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”). A total of 730,770 shares of common stock were reserved for future issuance under the ESPP, which became effective upon the closing of the Company’s IPO. The price of the common stock purchased under the ESPP shall be the lower of 85% of the market value of the Company’s common stock at the beginning of the offering period or 85% of the market value of the Company’s common stock on the last trading day of the applicable offering period. On the first day of each of the Company’s fiscal years, beginning on January 1, 2011, shares equal to the lesser of one percent (1%) of the outstanding shares of the Company on such date or a lesser amount determined by the Company’s board of directors will be reserved for issuance under the ESPP; provided, however, that no annual increase shall be added more than ten years after March 30, 2010. During the three months ended March 31, 2011, shares equal to one percent (1%) of the outstanding shares of the Company on January 1, 2011, or 163,378 shares, were registered and reserved for issuance under the ESPP. During the three months ended March 31, 2012, shares equal to one percent (1%) of the outstanding shares of the Company on January 1, 2012, or 176,746 shares, were registered and reserved for issuance under the ESPP.

 

The Company calculated the compensation expense for the ESPP using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following weighted-average assumptions during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

 

 

 

2012

 

2011

 

Dividend rate

 

0

%

0

%

Risk-free interest rate

 

0.1

%

0.2

%

Expected life (in years)

 

0.5

 

0.5

 

Expected volatility

 

61.0

%

56.5

%

 

The Company recognized compensation expense related to the ESPP in the amount of $0.1 million and $0.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011. The Company issued 178,150 shares and 93,307 shares of common stock during the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010. The Company had 799,437 shares of its common stock available for future issuance under the ESPP as of March 31, 2012.

 

12. Information about Geographic Areas

 

The Company considers operating segments to be components of the Company in which separate financial information is available that is evaluated regularly by the Company’s chief operating decision maker, or decision making group, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. The chief operating decision maker for the Company is the CEO. The CEO reviews financial information presented on a condensed consolidated basis, accompanied by information about revenue by geographic region, for purposes of allocating resources and evaluating financial performance. The Company has one business activity and there are no segment managers who are held accountable for operations, operating results or plans for levels or components below the consolidated unit level. Accordingly, the Company has determined that it has a single reporting segment and operating unit structure which is the development and marketing of wireless infrastructure solutions.

 

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MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

Revenues

 

Revenues by geography are based on the billing address of the customer. The following table sets forth revenue by geographic area (in thousands):

 

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

 

 

 

2012

 

2011

 

United States

 

$

9,663

 

$

11,361

 

Rest of Americas

 

1,433

 

1,577

 

United Kingdom

 

3,130

 

2,085

 

Rest of EMEA

 

2,505

 

3,304

 

Asia Pacific

 

2,680

 

1,824

 

Total

 

$

19,411

 

$

20,151

 

 

Long-Lived Assets

 

The following table sets forth long-lived assets by geographic area (in thousands):

 

 

 

March 31,

 

December 31,

 

 

 

2012

 

2011

 

United States

 

$

1,476

 

$

1,312

 

India

 

164

 

141

 

Japan

 

20

 

23

 

Total

 

$

1,660

 

$

1,476

 

 

13. Income Taxes

 

The Company’s provision for income taxes was $129,000 and $77,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, consisting primarily of provisions for foreign income taxes.

 

The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state and foreign jurisdictions.  The Company’s tax years for 2002 and forward are subject to examination by the U.S. tax authorities and various state tax authorities.  These years are open due to net operating losses and tax credits unutilized from such years.  The Company’s tax years for December 31, 2008 and forward are subject to examination by the major foreign taxing jurisdictions in which the Company is subject to tax.

 

14. Related-Party Transactions

 

The Company invested in a private company that is a related party. The investee is co-founded by Dr. Vaduvur Bharghavan, who is a member of the Company’s board of directors. The total investment in this related party amounted to $1.3 million in 2011. See Note 7 for further discussion of this investment.

 

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Table of Contents

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(Unaudited)

 

The Company has a reseller in Japan that is a related party. This reseller owned shares of the Company’s stock during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011. The total revenue from this related party amounted to $265,000 and $386,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011. Accounts receivable from the reseller were $63,000 and $74,000 as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011.

 

The Company has a distributor in Japan that is a related party. This distributor owned shares of the Company’s stock during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011. The total revenue from this related party amounted to $611,000 and $380,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011. Accounts receivable from this distributor were zero and $58,000 as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011.

 

15. Subsequent event

 

As discussed in Note 9, the Company entered into a settlement, license and release agreement with Extricom on April 13, 2012. As the Company determined that this resulted in a recognized subsequent event, a loss in the amount of $2.4 million was accrued as of March 31, 2012. The $2.4 million was paid in April 2012.

 

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Table of Contents

 

Item 2.       Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

 

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this report. This Periodic Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Form 10-Q, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, strategy and plans, and our expectations for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “should,” “plan,” “potential,” “project,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “design,” “intend,” “expect” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in “Risk Factors.” In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this Form 10-Q may not occur, and actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements as a result of many factors.

 

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. In addition, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. We disclaim any duty to update any of these forward-looking statements after the date of this Form 10-Q to confirm these statements to actual results or revised expectations.

 

Overview

 

We provide a virtualized wireless LAN solution that is designed to cost-effectively optimize the enterprise network to deliver the performance, reliability, predictability and operational simplicity of a wired network, with the advantages of mobility. Our solution represents an innovative approach to wireless networking that utilizes virtualization technology to create an intelligent and self-monitoring wireless network. We sell a virtualized wireless LAN solution built around our System Director Operating System, which runs on our controllers and access points. We also offer additional products designed to deliver centralized network management, predictive and proactive diagnostics and enhanced security.

 

We were founded in January 2002 with the vision of developing a virtualized wireless LAN solution that enables enterprises to deliver business-critical applications over wireless networks, and become what we refer to as All-Wireless Enterprises. From our inception through 2003, we were principally engaged in the design and development of our virtualized wireless LAN solution. We focused on developing technology that could reliably and predictably deliver business-critical applications using voice, video and data over wireless networks in dense environments. We began commercial shipments of our products in December 2003, and initially targeted markets where the wireless delivery of applications in dense environments is critical, such as healthcare and education. Since that time, we have broadened our focus to include organizations in more markets, and have significantly expanded our geographic reach. To date, our products have been deployed by approximately 6,200 customers worldwide in many markets, including education, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, retail, technology, finance, government, telecom, transportation and utilities.

 

We outsource the manufacturing of our hardware products, including all of our access points and controllers, to original design manufacturers and contract manufacturers. We also outsource the warehousing and delivery of our products to a third-party logistics provider in the United States for worldwide fulfillment.

 

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Table of Contents

 

Our products and support services are sold worldwide, primarily through value-added resellers, or VARs, and distributors, which serve as our channel partners. We employ a sales force that is responsible for managing sales within each geographic territory in which we market and sell our products.

 

Since inception, we have expended significant resources on our research and development operations. Our research and development activities were primarily conducted at our headquarters in Sunnyvale, California until 2005, when we significantly expanded our research and development operations in Bangalore, India. In 2006, we began developing products specifically to leverage the capabilities of a new wireless communication standard promulgated by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE, the 802.11n standard, and began commercial shipments of our 802.11n products in the second half of 2007.

 

We believe several emerging trends and developments will be integral to the future growth of our business. The growing number of wireless devices and the increased expectations of the users of these devices are driving demand for better performing wireless networks. Enterprises increasingly view wireless networks as a means to deliver better service to their customers and increase the productivity of their workforce, and as a result, they are shifting from the casual use of wireless networks to the strategic use of wireless networks for business-critical applications. Further, enterprises are increasingly realizing that wireless networks designed to optimize the 802.11n standard and the planned 802.11ac standard can deliver the capacity and performance to support their business-critical applications.

 

Our ability to capitalize on emerging trends and developments will depend, in part, on our ability to execute our growth strategy of increasing the recognition of our brand and the effectiveness of our solution, expanding the adoption of our solution across markets, and expanding and leveraging our relationships with the channel partners. We continue to evolve our entire organization to further capitalize on growth opportunities.

 

On March 18, 2012, our Board of Directors appointed Dr. Bami Bastani, who previously served as the president and chief executive officer, or CEO, as well as in board of director positions in the mobility, consumer, and broadband markets, as President and CEO of Meru Networks and a member of our Board of Directors. Our ability to achieve and maintain profitability as well as our other goals in the future will be affected by, among other things, our ability to integrate our current CEO, the continued acceptance of our products, the timing and size of orders, the average selling prices for our products and services, the costs of our products, and the extent to which we invest in our sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative resources.

 

Our revenues have grown from $1.1 million in 2005 to $90.5 million in 2011 and were $19.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012. It is very difficult to predict our revenues in the near term. Our revenues have in the past fluctuated significantly, and may continue to fluctuate in the future. Further, our revenues during any given quarter depend on multiple factors, including, but not limited to, the amount of orders booked in a prior quarter but not shipped until the given quarter, new orders received and shipped in the given quarter, the amount of deferred revenue recognized in the given quarter and the amount of revenues that meet the accounting standards for revenue recognition. These factors could impact our revenues significantly in any given quarter.

 

In addition, we believe that there can be significant seasonal factors that may cause the first and third quarters of our fiscal year to have relatively weaker products revenues than the second and fourth fiscal quarters. We believe that this seasonality results from a number of factors, including:

 

·           customers with a December 31 fiscal year end may choose to spend remaining budgets before their year end resulting in a positive impact on our products revenues in the fourth quarter of our fiscal year;

 

·           the structure of our direct sales compensation program may provide additional financial incentives to our sales personnel for exceeding their annual goals;

 

·           the timing of our annual training for the entire sales force in our first fiscal quarter combined with the above fourth quarter factors can potentially cause our first fiscal quarter to be seasonally weak;

 

·           many of our education customers have procurement and deployment cycles that can result in stronger order flow in our second fiscal quarter than other quarters assuming the continued availability of traditional funding sources, such as the E-Rate program in the United States; and

 

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·           seasonal reductions in business activity during the summer months in the United States, Europe and certain other regions may have a negative impact on our third quarter revenues.

 

We believe that our historical growth, variations in the number of orders booked in a prior quarter but not shipped until a later quarter and other variations in the amount of deferred revenues may have overshadowed the nature or magnitude of seasonal or cyclical factors that might have influenced our business to date. In addition, the timing of one or more large transactions may overshadow seasonal factors in any particular quarterly period. Seasonal or cyclical variations in our operations may become more pronounced over time and may materially affect our results of operations in the future.

 

We have incurred losses since inception as we grew our business and invested in research and development, sales and marketing, and administrative functions. As of March 31, 2012, we had an accumulated deficit of $236.4 million.

 

Vendor Specific Objective Evidence

 

Our recognition of revenues in a particular period depends on the satisfaction of specific revenue recognition criteria, which we describe in more detail below. We adopted two new accounting standards for certain revenue arrangements at the beginning of fiscal year 2011 that include software elements and multiple deliverable revenue arrangements. The manner in which we recognize our revenues has changed significantly over time, particularly in 2008 and 2009, when we established vendor specific objective evidence of fair value, or VSOE, for our support services. These changes have had a significant impact on the timing of when we recognize revenues from sales of our products and services. Generally, upon establishing VSOE for support services for a customer or class of customers, our total recognized revenues from sales to these customers increased in subsequent periods because we were able to recognize all of the products revenues from these sales in these periods once all revenue recognition criteria were satisfied, and we were no longer required to defer the recognition of products revenues over the support period. We also continued to recognize ratable products and services revenues from sales to customers made prior to establishing VSOE for support services. This impact will decrease over time as our deferred revenue balance declines from the time we established VSOE for support services. We recognize the costs of revenues in the same period in which we recognize the associated revenues. When reviewing our financial performance and making period-to-period comparisons, you should consider the impact that the timing of the adoption of the two new accounting standards and the establishment of VSOE had on our financial results, including the amount of our revenues and costs of revenues.

 

Components of Revenues, Costs of Revenues and Operating Expenses

 

Revenues. We derive our revenues from sales of our products, and support and services. Our total revenues are comprised of the following:

 

·                   Products Revenues — We generate products revenues from sales of our software and hardware products, which primarily consist of our System Director Operating System running our access points and controllers, as well as additional software applications.

 

·                   Support and Services Revenues — We generate support and services revenues primarily from service contracts for our Meru Assure customer support program, which includes software updates, maintenance releases and patches, telephone and internet access to our technical support personnel and hardware support. We also generate support and services revenues from the professional and training services that we provide to our VARs, distributors and customers.

 

·                   Ratable Products and Services Revenues — Prior to January 1, 2009, we recognized ratable products and services revenues from sales of our products and services in circumstances where VSOE for support services being provided could not be segregated from the value of the entire sales arrangement, or where we provided technical support or unspecified software upgrades outside of contractual terms. In these cases, revenues were deferred and recognized ratably over either the economic life of the product or the contractual period. As of January 1, 2009, we established VSOE for support services for all our channel partners and customers, and we no longer offer support

 

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outside of contractual terms, and therefore, we are able to recognize products revenues and support and services revenues separately.

 

Deferred Revenue. Prior to establishing VSOE for our support services provided to VARs, distributors and customers, we recognized the revenues from such sales over either the economic life of the related products or the contractual support period, depending on the party and the time at which the sale occurred. As such, prior to establishing VSOE for support services sold to VARs, distributors and customers, only a small amount of our invoiced products and services within a quarter were recognized as revenues in such quarter, with the majority recorded as deferred revenue. We established VSOE for support services sold to our channel partners, including VARs, distributors and customers, at different times during 2007, 2008 and 2009. The decreases in deferred revenue due to the related recognition of ratable revenue are partially offset by the sale of support services that will be recognized over the term of the support agreements. The total deferred revenue as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 were $15.4 million and $16.2 million.

 

Costs of Revenues. Our total costs of revenues is comprised of the following:

 

·                  Costs of Products Revenues — A substantial majority of the costs of products revenues consists of third-party manufacturing costs and component costs. Our costs of products revenues also include shipping costs, third-party logistics costs, write-offs for excess and obsolete inventory and warranty costs.

 

·                  Costs of Support and Services Revenues — Costs of support and services revenues is primarily comprised of personnel costs associated with our technical support, professional services and training teams.

 

·                  Costs of Ratable Products and Services Revenues — Costs of ratable products and services revenues is comprised primarily of deferred costs of products revenues and an allocation of costs of services revenues.

 

Operating Expenses. Our operating expenses consist of research and development, sales and marketing, general and administrative expenses and litigation reserve expense. The largest component of our operating expenses is personnel costs. Personnel costs consist of salaries, commissions, bonuses and benefits for our employees. We grant our employees and members of our board of directors equity awards and recognize stock-based compensation cost as part of operating expenses. We expect to continue to incur significant stock-based compensation expense as our employee base grows. Professional services consist of outside legal and accounting services and information technology and other consulting costs. We expect our operating expenses to continue to grow in absolute dollars in the near term, although they are likely to fluctuate as a percentage of revenues.

 

Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses primarily consist of personnel, engineering, testing and compliance, facilities and professional services costs. We expense research and development costs as incurred. We are devoting substantial resources to the continued development of additional functionality for our existing products and the development of new products.

 

Sales and Marketing Expenses. Sales and marketing expenses represent the largest component of our operating expenses and primarily consist of personnel costs, sales commissions, travel costs, cost for marketing programs and facilities costs. We plan to continue to invest in sales and marketing, including our VARs and distributors, and increase the number of our sales personnel worldwide, although at a slower rate of increase than experienced in 2011.

 

General and Administrative Expenses. General and administrative expenses primarily consist of personnel, professional services and facilities costs related to our executive, finance, human resource and information technology functions. Professional services consist of outside legal and accounting services and information technology consulting costs. We have incurred additional accounting and legal costs related to compliance with rules and regulations enacted by the SEC, including the additional costs of complying with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as additional insurance, investor relations and other costs associated with being a public company.

 

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Litigation Reserve Expense. Litigation reserve expense consists of settlements or anticipated settlements of litigation. During the three months ended March 31, 2012, the litigation reserve expense was related to the settlement, license and release agreement with Extricom Ltd. or Extricom. As part of this agreement, we agreed to pay Extricom $2.4 million. The payment was made in April 2012.

 

Interest Expense, Net. Interest expense, net consists primarily of customer prompt payment discounts for the three months ended March 31, 2012. Interest expense, net consists primarily of interest expense on debt, prompt payment discounts and interest income on cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments balances. As of March 31, 2012, we had $6.9 million outstanding on our line of credit.

 

Other Income, Net. During the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, other income, net consists primarily of gains and losses on foreign currency transactions.

 

Critical Accounting Policies

 

Our condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. The preparation of these condensed consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, costs and expenses and related disclosures. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. In many instances, we could have reasonably used different accounting estimates, and in other instances changes in the accounting estimates are reasonably likely to occur from period-to-period. Accordingly, actual results could differ significantly from the estimates made by our management. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our future financial statement presentation, financial condition, results of operations, comprehensive income and cash flows will be affected. We believe that the accounting policies discussed below are critical to understanding our historical and future performance, as these policies relate to the more significant areas involving management’s judgments and estimates.

 

We believe that the following critical accounting policies involve our more significant judgments, assumptions and estimates and, therefore, could potentially have a significant impact on our condensed consolidated financial statements: revenue recognition; stock-based compensation; fair value of financial instruments; inventory valuation; allowance for doubtful accounts; and income taxes.

 

There have been no significant changes in our accounting policies during the three months ended March 31, 2012, as compared to the significant accounting policies described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011.

 

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Results of Operations

 

Three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to three months ended March 31, 2011

 

The following table presents our historical operating results in dollars (in thousands) and as a percentage of revenues for the periods presented:

 

 

 

Three Months Ended March 31,

 

 

 

2012

 

2011

 

REVENUES:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Products

 

$

15,803

 

81.4

%

$

15,440

 

76.6

%

Support and services

 

3,558

 

18.3

 

3,140

 

15.6

 

Ratable products and services

 

50

 

0.3

 

1,571

 

7.8

 

Total revenues

 

19,411

 

100.0

 

20,151

 

100.0

 

COSTS OF REVENUES:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Products

 

5,454

 

28.1

 

5,711

 

28.3

 

Support and services

 

1,455

 

7.5

 

897

 

4.5

 

Ratable products and services

 

31

 

0.2

 

852

 

4.2

 

Total costs of revenues

 

6,940

 

35.8

 

7,460

 

37.0

 

Gross margin

 

12,471

 

64.2

 

12,691

 

63.0

 

OPERATING EXPENSES:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research and development

 

3,871

 

20.0

 

3,422

 

17.0

 

Sales and marketing

 

15,574

 

80.2

 

9,612

 

47.7

 

General and administrative

 

5,033

 

25.9

 

2,918

 

14.5

 

Litigation reserve

 

2,350

 

12.1

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

 

26,828

 

138.2

 

15,952

 

79.2

 

Loss from operations

 

(14,357

)

(74.0

)

(3,261

)

(16.2

)

Interest expense, net

 

(29

)

(0.1

)

(92

)

(0.5

)

Other income, net

 

28

 

0.1

 

55

 

0.3

 

Loss before provision for income taxes

 

(14,358

)

(74.0

)

(3,298

)

(16.4

)

Provision for income taxes

 

129

 

0.6

 

77

 

0.3

 

Net loss

 

$

(14,487

)

(74.6

)%

$

(3,375

)

(16.7

)%

 

Our total revenues decreased by $0.7 million, or 3.7%, to $19.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012 from $20.2 million during the three months ended March 31, 2011. Our products and support and services revenues, or total revenues excluding ratable revenues, increased by $0.8 million, or 4.2%, to $19.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012 from $18.6 million during the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase was primarily the result of increased demand for our products particularly in the United Kingdom and Asia Pacific regions during the three months ended March 31, 2012.

 

Products revenues increased by $0.4 million, or 2.4%, to $15.8 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012 from $15.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2011. The increase was primarily a result of an increase in unit shipments particularly in the United Kingdom and Asia Pacific regions during the three months ended March 31, 2012.

 

Support and services revenues increased by $0.4 million, or 13.3%, to $3.6 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012 from $3.1 million during the three months ended March 31, 2011. The increase in support and services revenues is a result of increased product sales particularly during the second half of fiscal year 2011 in the United Kingdom and Asia Pacific regions, resulting in first-year support sales, and the renewal of support contracts by existing customers. As our customer base grows over time, we expect our support revenues will continue to increase.

 

Ratable products and services revenues decreased by $1.5 million, or 96.8%, to $50,000 during the three months ended March 31, 2012 from $1.6 million during the three months ended March 31, 2011.  This ratable revenue is being amortized from transactions initiated prior to 2009 and is expected to continue to decline over time as the related deferred revenue balance is depleted during 2013.

 

Costs of Revenue and Gross Margin

 

Total costs of revenues decreased by $0.5 million, or 7.0%, to $6.9 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012 from $7.5 million during the three months ended March 31, 2011.  Overall gross margins, as a

 

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percentage of total revenues, increased to 64.2% during the three months ended March 31, 2012 from 63.0% during the three months ended March 31, 2011. Our product gross margins increased to 65.5% during the three months ended March 31, 2012 from 63.0% during the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase in the product gross margin was primarily the result of a product mix, particularly increased sales in software products. Our support and services gross margins decreased to 59.1% during the three months ended March 31, 2012 from 71.4% during the three months ended March 31, 2011. This decrease in the support and services gross margin was primarily the result of our continued investment in headcount related to customer support and professional services and a reduction in the amount of support costs allocated to ratable revenues. Our ratable gross margins decreased to 38.0% during the three months ended March 31, 2012 from 45.8% during the three months ended March 31, 2011.

 

Operating Expenses

 

Our operating expenses increased by $10.9 million, or 68.2%, to $26.8 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012 from $16.0 million during the three months ended March 31, 2011, and increased as a percentage of revenue from 79.2% during the three months ended March 31, 2011 to 138.2% during the three months ended March 31, 2012. The increase was primarily due to an increase of $4.2 million in personnel costs related to increased headcount, a litigation reserve expense of $2.4 million related to the Extricom license and settlement agreement, an increase of $1.3 million in sales and marketing program expenses, an increase of $0.9 million costs related to our former CEO’s transitional employment agreement and the executive search fees for the current CEO, an increase of $0.9 million in stock-based compensation expense, an increase of $0.6 million in legal fees related to the ongoing litigation matters, as well as an increase of $0.5 million in travel expenses as compared to the same period of last year.

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

Research and development expenses increased by $0.4 million, or 13.1%, to $3.9 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012 from $3.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase is primarily the result of an increase of $0.2 million in facility expense and an increase of $0.1 million in research and development personnel costs as compared to the same period of last year.

 

Sales and Marketing Expenses

 

Sales and marketing expenses increased by $6.0 million, or 62.0%, to $15.6 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012 from $9.6 million during the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase is primarily the result of an increase of $3.6 million in sales and marketing personnel costs as a result of increased headcount, an increase of $1.3 million in sales and marketing program expenses, an increase of $0.6 million in travel expenses and an increase of $0.4 million in stock-based compensation expense as compared to the same period of last year.

 

General and Administrative Expenses

 

General and administrative expenses increased by $2.1 million, or 72.5%, to $5.0 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012 from $2.9 million during the three months ended March 31, 2011. This increase is primarily the result of an increase of $0.9 million in costs related to our former CEO’s transitional employment agreement and the executive search fees for the current CEO, an increase of $0.6 million in legal fees related to ongoing litigation matters, an increase of $0.3 million in general and administrative personnel costs and an increase of $0.3 million in stock-based compensation expense as compared to the same period of last year.

 

Litigation Reserve Expense

 

In April 2012, we entered into a settlement, license and release agreement with Extricom. The Company determined that this was a recognized subsequent event and expensed the full $2.4 million in the three months ended March 31, 2012 as we do not believe the agreement provides any future value.

 

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Interest Expense, net

 

Interest expense, net decreased by $63,000, or 68.5%, to $29,000 during the three months ended March 31, 2012, from $92,000 million during the three months ended March 31, 2011. This decrease is primarily due to the decrease in the principal balances on our outstanding debt.

 

Other Income, net

 

Other income, net decreased from $55,000 during the three months ended March 31, 2011 to $28,000 during the three months ended March 31, 2012.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Since inception, we have funded our operations primarily with proceeds from issuances of convertible preferred stock, common stock, long-term debt and our credit facility. From 2007 through 2009, we raised an aggregate of $62.3 million from the sale of our convertible preferred stock, including amounts received through the conversion of promissory notes. We have also funded purchases of equipment and other general corporate services with proceeds from our long-term debt in the amount of $16.5 million. In 2010, we received $57.1 million from our initial public offering, representing the net proceeds of the offering after deducting underwriters’ commissions and discounts and other issuance costs.

 

As of March 31, 2012, we had borrowings outstanding on our line of credit in the amount of $6.9 million. As of March 31, 2011, we had debt outstanding in the amount of $1.4 million.  The amount outstanding on our line of credit as of March 31, 2012 is due to be repaid by May 31, 2012, the expiration date of the working capital line of credit. During the three months ended March 31, 2012, the average daily outstanding balance on our line of credit was approximately $75,000. Our debt agreements contain various affirmative and negative covenants, including restrictions with respect to payment of cash dividends, merger or consolidation, changes in the nature of our business, disposal of assets and obtaining additional loans. Our debt agreements also contain certain financial covenants and cross default provisions whereby a default, including a violation of covenants, under the terms of one agreement would result in a default under the other agreement. As of March 31, 2012 and at the date of this filing, we were and are in compliance with our debt covenants. Our debt agreements are collateralized by all of our assets. In the event we fail to comply with our debt covenants, the amounts outstanding under our debt agreements would become due and payable absent a waiver by our lender.

 

As of March 31, 2012, we had cash and cash equivalents of $36.6 million as compared to a combined cash and cash-equivalents and short-term investments balance of $40.3 million as of December 31, 2011.

 

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

 

Our primary uses of cash from operating activities have been for personnel-related expenditures, purchases of inventory and costs related to our facilities. We have experienced negative cash flows from operations as we expanded our business. Our cash flows from operating activities will continue to be affected principally by our working capital requirements and the extent to which we increase spending on personnel as our business grows. Our largest source of operating cash flows is cash collections from our customers. Cash used in operating activities was $10.1 million and $7.5 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011.

 

Cash used in operating activities of $10.1 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012 reflected a net loss of $14.5 million, offset by non-cash charges of $2.5 million, $2.2 million of which relates to stock-based compensation. The change in our net operating assets and liabilities was comprised of a net increase of $1.7 million in accounts payable and accrued liabilities, a decrease of $1.9 million in accounts receivable that was partially offset by an increase of $1.1 million in inventory and a decrease of $0.8 million in deferred revenue.

 

Cash used in operating activities of $7.5 million during the three months ended March 31, 2011 reflected a net loss of $3.4 million, offset by non-cash charges of $1.5 million, $1.4 million of which relates to stock-based compensation. Cash used as a result of changes in our net operating assets and liabilities was $5.7 million during the three months ended March 31, 2011. A decrease of $1.9 million in deferred revenue, an increase of $1.9 million in

 

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accounts receivable and a decrease of $2.2 million in accounts payable and accrued liabilities were partially offset by a decrease of $0.5 million in deferred inventory costs.

 

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

 

Our investing activities have consisted of our short-term investments and capital expenditures during the three months ended March 31, 2012. The cash provided by investing activities of $4.6 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012 reflected a maturity of $5.0 million of short-term investments that was partially offset by $0.4 million of capital expenditures.

 

Our investing activities have consisted of our short-term investments and capital expenditures during the three months ended March 31, 2011. The purchase of $5.0 million of short-term investments was offset by the maturity of $5.0 million of short-term investments. Cash used in investing activities during the three months ended March 31, 2011 was $0.2 million as a result of our capital expenditures.

 

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

 

To date, we have financed our operations primarily with proceeds from the sale of our common stock in our initial public offering, issuance of common stock in conjunction with the exercises options to purchase our stock, the sale of convertible preferred stock, the incurrence of debt and the use of a line of credit facility. As of March 31, 2012 and 2011, we had borrowings outstanding on our line of credit in the amount of $6.9 million and $1.4 million. We paid approximately $0.5 million per month in principal and interest payments on our debt during three months ended March 31, 2011.

 

During the three months ended March 31, 2012, cash provided by financing activities was $6.8 million; primarily as a result of our line of credit of $6.9 million and the net proceeds from the exercise of stock options in the amount of $5,000 partially offset by taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards of $66,000.

 

During the three months ended March 31, 2011, cash provided by financing activities was $0.1 million primarily as a result of the net proceeds from the exercise of stock options in the amount of $1.5 million partially offset by principal payments on our debt of $1.4 million.

 

Capital Resources

 

We believe our existing cash and cash equivalents combined with the amounts available under our line of credit facility will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure needs for the next 12 months. Our future capital requirements may vary materially from those currently planned and will depend on many factors, including, among other things, market acceptance of our products, the cost of our research and development activities and overall economic conditions.

 

Contractual Obligations

 

We are obligated to make principal and interest payments on our debt under our line of credit facility. The interest rates on our line of credit are variable and may adjust periodically based on changes in the prime rate. As of March 31, 2012, our obligation to make principal payments on our line of credit totaled $6.9 million which is due to be repaid on or before May 31, 2012. As of March 31, 2011, our obligation to make principal, interest, and other payments on debt totaled $1.5 million.

 

As of March 31, 2012, we had operating lease obligations of $3.7 million, of which the longest remaining lease expires in 2015. Our operating lease in India expires in 2016, but is noncancelable prior to 2014. We have the option to renew the lease for an additional five years. Our outstanding purchase commitments of $10.2 million are due within the next 12 months.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

As of March 31, 2012, we did not have any off balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4) of the SEC’s Regulation S-K.

 

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Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

 

Market Risk

 

Market risk represents the risk of loss that may impact our financial position due to adverse changes in financial market prices and rates. Our market risk exposure is primarily a result of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. We do not hold financial instruments for trading purposes.

 

Foreign Currency Risk

 

Most of our sales are denominated in U.S. dollars, and therefore, our revenues are not currently subject to significant foreign currency risk. Our operating expenses are denominated in the currencies of the countries in which our operations are located, and may be subject to fluctuations due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates, particularly changes in the Indian rupee, Euro, British pound sterling and Japanese yen relative to the U.S. dollar. To date, we have not entered into any hedging contracts. During the three months ended March 31, 2012, a 10% appreciation or depreciation in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to the other currencies in which our expenses are denominated would not have had a material impact on our earnings, fair values, or cash flows.

 

Interest Rate Sensitivity

 

We had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $36.6 million and $40.3 million as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011. These amounts were held primarily in cash deposits, money market funds and U.S. government securities. Cash and cash equivalents are held for working capital purposes. We do not use derivative financial instruments to hedge the risk of interest rate volatility. Due to the short-term nature of these instruments, we believe that we do not have any material exposure to changes in the fair value of our investment portfolio as a result of changes in interest rates. Declines in interest rates, however, will reduce future interest income. During the three months ended March 31, 2012, a 10% appreciation or depreciation in overall interest rates would not have had a material impact on our earnings, fair values, or cash flows.

 

Item 4.       Controls and Procedures

 

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

Our management, with the participation and supervision of our CEO and our chief financial officer (“CFO”), has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. In addition, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and that management is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the benefits of possible controls and procedures relative to their costs.

 

Based upon the aforementioned evaluation, our CEO and CFO have concluded that, as of March 31, 2012, our disclosure controls and procedures are designed at a reasonable assurance level and are effective to provide reasonable assurance that information we are required to disclose in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our CEO and CFO, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

Regulations under the Exchange Act require public companies, including our company, to evaluate any change in our “internal control over financial reporting” as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) and Rule 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act. In connection with their evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report, our CEO and CFO did not identify any changes in our internal

 

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control over financial reporting during the fiscal quarter covered by this Quarterly Report that materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 1.       Legal Proceedings

 

We are subject to various claims arising in the ordinary course of business. Although no assurance may be given, we believe that we are not presently a party to any litigation of which the outcome, if determined adversely, would individually or in the aggregate be reasonably expected to have a material and adverse effect on our business, operating results, cash flows or financial position.

 

On May 11, 2010, Extricom Ltd., filed suit against us in the Federal District Court of Delaware asserting infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,697,549.  Also on May 11, 2010, we filed a declaratory relief action against Extricom Ltd. in the Federal District Court for Northern California seeking a declaration that the Company is not infringing the Extricom Ltd. patent and that the patent is invalid. Our declaratory relief action in the Northern District of California was dismissed by the Court on August 31, 2010 in favor of the Delaware action on the ground that Extricom Ltd. filed its suit in the Federal District Court of Delaware first.  On October 7, 2010, we filed a motion to transfer the Delaware action to the Northern District of California based upon the convenience of witnesses and in the interests of justice.  On April 13, 2012, the parties entered into a settlement, license and release agreement where we have agreed to a one-time payment of approximately $2.4 million to Extricom Ltd., as well as a cross-license of each party’s patents in exchange for a full release and settlement of the litigation.  On April 17, 2012 the parties filed a joint stipulation to dismiss the action in the Federal District Court of Delaware to dismiss the litigation between the parties, which dismissal was accepted and ordered by the Court on April 23, 2012. We do not believe this agreement will provide future value as we do not plan to utilize the underlying technology in any future product development or sales.

 

On October 22, 2010, EON Corp. IP Holdings, LLC, filed suit against us and several other defendants in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas asserting infringement of U.S. Patent No. 5,592,491.  EON Corp. IP Holdings, LLC has amended its complaint to add additional defendants and to add specificity to certain of its claims.  Our response to the Amended Complaint was filed on March 7, 2011, denying the allegations of the complaint, and asserting that the EON patent is not infringed and is invalid. One of the co-defendants in the action filed a motion to transfer the case to the Northern District of California, and the Company joined in the motion to transfer.  On February 29, 2012, the case was transferred to the Northern District of California.  No case schedule has been set in the California action. The EON Corp. IP Holdings, LLC Amended Complaint seeks unspecified monetary damages and injunctive relief.  At this time, we are unable to determine the outcome of this matter and, accordingly, cannot estimate the potential financial impact this action could have on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial position.

 

On June 2, 2011, the United States International Trade Commission instituted a Section 337 Investigation, based on allegations that Linex Technologies, Inc.’s (“Linex”) U.S. Patents relating to multiple-input-multiple-output technology are infringed by 802.11n products imported and sold by us—as well as by Hewlett-Packard, Apple, Aruba Networks, and Ruckus Wireless.  On April 2, 2012, Linex filed a motion to terminate the Investigation based on withdrawal of the complaint.   On April 3, 2012, Administrative Law Judge Thomas B. Pender granted Linex’s motion and as a result, the Investigation has been terminated in its entirety.

 

Third parties have from time to time claimed, and others may claim in the future, that we have infringed their past, current or future intellectual property rights. These claims, whether meritorious or not, could be time-consuming, result in costly litigation, require expensive changes to our products or could require us to enter into costly royalty or licensing agreements, if available. As a result, these claims could harm our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial position.

 

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Item 1A. RISK FACTORS

 

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

 

Our business is subject to many risks and uncertainties, which may affect our future financial performance. If any of the events or circumstances described below occurs, our business and financial performance could be harmed, our actual results could differ materially from our expectations and the market value of our stock could decline. The risks and uncertainties discussed below are not the only ones we face. There may be additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently do not believe are material that may harm our business and financial performance. Because of the risks and uncertainties discussed below, as well as other variables affecting our operating results, past financial performance should not be considered as a reliable indicator of future performance and investors should not use historical trends to anticipate results or trends in future periods.

 

We expect to incur operating losses throughout 2012 that, absent additional financing, would result in lower cash balances on hand by the end of 2012.

 

We expect to incur operating losses and continued cash usage in 2012 as a result of expenses associated with the continued development and expansion of our business, including expenditures related to the strategic decision to double the size of our field sales team between early 2011 and early 2012.  As of March 31, 2012, we had cash and cash equivalents balances of $36.6 million.

 

While we believe our cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs for the next 12 months from the date of this report, if we do not borrow from our credit line, if available, or otherwise raise additional financing, our cash balances will be reduced to comparatively lower levels over the next twelve months. Should these lower cash balances materialize, it could make it more difficult to obtain new customers and retain existing customers. In addition, we could see increased employee attrition and difficulty attracting new employees.  These developments could materially and adversely impact our business and operating results.

 

Our future capital needs are uncertain and we may need to raise additional funds in the future, and if we require additional funds in the future, such funds may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all.

 

We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and the amounts available under our line of credit facility, will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash requirements for the next 12 months. We may, however, need to raise substantial additional capital due to changes in business conditions or other future developments or in order to:

 

·                  expand the commercialization of our products;

 

·                  fund our operations;

 

·                  continue our research and development;

 

·                  defend, in litigation or otherwise, any claims that we infringe third-party patents or violate other intellectual property rights;

 

·                  commercialize new products; and

 

·                  acquire companies and in-licensed products or intellectual property.

 

Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including:

 

·                  the time required for new sales managers to become productive.

 

·                  successful implementation of, and achieving benefits from, our marketing activities;

 

·                  market acceptance of our products;

 

·                  the cost of our research and development activities;

 

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·                  the cost of filing and prosecuting patent applications;

 

·                  the cost of defending, in litigation or otherwise, any claims that we infringe third-party patents or violate other intellectual property rights;

 

·                  the cost and timing of establishing additional sales, marketing and distribution capabilities;

 

·                  the cost and timing of establishing additional technical support capabilities;

 

·                  the effect of competing technological and market developments; and

 

·                  the market for such funding requirements and overall economic conditions.

 

We may require additional funds in the future and we may not be able to obtain such funds on acceptable terms, or at all. If we raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, our stockholders may experience dilution. The holders of new equity securities may also receive rights, preferences or privileges that are senior to those of existing holders of our common stock. Debt financing, if available, may involve covenants restricting our operations or our ability to incur additional debt. Any debt or additional equity financing that we raise may contain terms that are not favorable to us or our stockholders. If we do not have, or are not able to obtain, sufficient funds, we would be required to modify our growth and operating plans to the extent of available funding, which would harm our ability to grow our business. We may also have to delay development or commercialization of our products or license to third parties the rights to commercialize products or technologies that we would otherwise seek to commercialize. If we raise additional funds through collaboration and licensing arrangements with third parties, it may be necessary to relinquish some rights to our technologies or our products, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. If we are unable to raise adequate funds, we may have to liquidate some or all of our assets, or delay, reduce the scope of or eliminate some or all of our development programs. We also may have to reduce sales, marketing, customer support or other resources devoted to our products or cease operations. Any of these factors could harm our operating results.

 

If we do not effect a smooth transition to a new Chief Executive Officer, our business and operating results may suffer and our stock price may decline.

 

On March 18, 2012, our Board of Directors appointed Dr. Bami Bastani, who previously served as the president and CEO as well as in board of director positions in the mobility, consumer, and broadband markets, as President and CEO of Meru Networks and a member of our Board of Directors. Our CEO will likely also require a period of time to assimilate into our company and become fully productive, the pendency of which could negatively impact our business, at least in the short term.

 

Our operating results may fluctuate significantly, which makes our future results difficult to predict and could cause our operating results to fall below expectations or our guidance.

 

Our quarterly and annual operating results have varied significantly in the past and could vary significantly in the future, which makes it difficult for us to predict our future operating results. Our operating results may fluctuate due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control, including the changing and volatile U.S., European and global economic environment, and any of which may cause our stock price to fluctuate. As a result, comparing our operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful. You should not rely on our past results as an indication of our future performance. A significant portion of our quarterly sales typically occurs during the last month of the quarter, often within the last few weeks or days of the quarter. As a result, our quarterly operating results are difficult to predict even in the near term and a delay in an anticipated sale past the end of a particular quarter may negatively impact our results of operations for that quarter, or in some cases, that year. A delay in the recognition of revenue, even from just one account, may have a significant negative impact on our results of operations for a given period. If our revenue or operating results fall below the expectations of investors or securities analysts or below any guidance we may provide to the market, as has occurred recently and at other times in the past, or if the guidance we provide to the market falls below the expectations of investors or securities analysts, as has occurred recently and at other times in the past, the price of our common stock could

 

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decline substantially. Such a stock price decline could occur, and has occurred in the past, even when we have met our publicly stated revenue and/or earnings guidance.

 

In addition to other risks listed in this “Risk Factors” section, factors that may affect our operating results include, but are not limited to:

 

·                  fluctuations in demand, including due to seasonality, for our products and services. For example, many companies in our industry experience adverse seasonal fluctuations in customer spending patterns, particularly in the first and third quarters; we have experienced these seasonal fluctuations in the past and expect that this trend will continue in the future;

 

·                  fluctuations in sales cycles and prices for our products and services;

 

·                  reductions in customers’ budgets for information technology purchases and delays in their purchasing cycles;

 

·                  general economic or political conditions in our domestic and international markets, in particular the recent deficit spending and government debt issues surrounding the U.S. and Eurozone economies;

 

·                  limited visibility into customer spending plans;

 

·                  changing market conditions, including current and potential customer consolidation;

 

·                  variation in sales channels, product costs or mix of products sold;

 

·                  the timing of recognizing revenue in any given quarter as a result of revenue recognition accounting rules, including the extent to which sales transactions in a given period are unrecognizable until a future period or, conversely, the satisfaction of revenue recognition rules in a given period resulting in the recognition of revenue from transactions initiated in prior periods;

 

·                  the sale of our products in the timeframes we anticipate, including the number and size of orders, and the product mix within any such orders, in each quarter;

 

·                  our ability to develop, introduce and ship in a timely manner new products and product enhancements that meet customer requirements;

 

·                  the timing and execution of product transitions or new product introductions, including any related or resulting inventory costs;

 

·                  delays in customer purchasing cycles in response to our introduction of new products or product transitions;

 

·                  customer acceptance of new product introductions. For example, we recently introduced new virtualized solutions and software upgrades. These new products may not achieve any significant degree of market acceptance or be accepted into our sales channel by our channel partners. Furthermore, many of our target customers have not purchased products similar to these and might not have a specific budget for the purchase of these products;

 

·                  unpredictability in the development of core, new or adjacent markets, including the public cloud computing market;

 

·                  the timing of product releases or upgrades by us or by our competitors;

 

·                  any significant changes in the competitive dynamics of our markets, including new entrants or substantial discounting of products;

 

·                  our ability to control costs, including our operating expenses and the costs of the components we purchase;

 

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·                  our ability to establish and maintain successful relationships with channel partners, and the effectiveness of any changes we make to our distribution model;

 

·                  any decision to increase or decrease operating expenses in response to changes in the marketplace or perceived marketplace opportunities; and

 

·                  our ability to derive benefits from our investments in sales, marketing, engineering or other activities.

 

We have a limited operating history, which makes it difficult to predict our future operating results.

 

We were incorporated in January 2002 and began commercial shipments of our products in December 2003. As a result of our limited operating history, it is very difficult to forecast our future operating results. We face challenges in our business and financial planning as a result of the uncertainties resulting from having had a relatively limited time period in which to implement and evaluate our business strategies as compared to more mature companies with longer operating histories. These uncertainties make it difficult to predict our future operating results. If the assumptions we use to plan our business are incorrect or change in reaction to a change in our markets, our financial results could suffer.

 

We have incurred significant losses since inception, and could continue to incur losses in the future.

 

We have incurred significant losses since our inception, including net losses of $14.5 million and $3.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. As of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, we had an accumulated deficit of $236.4 million and $221.9 million, respectively. These losses have resulted principally from costs incurred in our research and development programs and sales and marketing programs. We expect to incur operating losses in the future as a result of the expenses associated with the continued development and expansion of our business, including expenditures to hire additional personnel for sales and marketing. Additionally, our general and administrative expenses have increased due to the additional operational and reporting costs associated with being a public company and we expect these costs to continue to increase. We may also increase our research and development expenses. Our ability to attain profitability in the future will be affected by, among other things, our ability to execute on our business strategy, the continued acceptance of our products, the timing and size of orders, the average selling prices of our products, the costs of our products, and the extent that we invest in our sales and marketing, research and development, and general and administrative resources. Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase our profitability. As a result, our business could be harmed and our stock price could decline.

 

Fluctuations in our revenues and operating results could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

 

Our revenues and operating results are difficult to predict, even in the near term. Our historical operating results have in the past fluctuated significantly, and may continue to fluctuate in the future, as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. As a result, comparing our revenues and operating results on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful, and you should not rely on our past results as an indication of our future performance. We may not be able to accurately predict our future revenues or results of operations. We base our current and future expense levels on our operating plans and sales forecasts, and our operating costs are relatively fixed in the short-term. As a result, we may not be able to reduce our costs sufficiently to compensate for an unexpected shortfall in revenues, and even a small shortfall in revenues could disproportionately and adversely affect financial results for that quarter. It is possible that our operating results in some periods may be below market expectations. This would likely cause the market price of our common stock to decline. In addition to the other risk factors listed in this section, our operating results are affected by a number of factors, including:

 

·                  our sales volume;

 

·                  fluctuations in demand for our products and services, including seasonal variations;

 

·                  average selling prices and the potential for increased discounting of products by us or our competitors;

 

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·                  the timing of revenue recognition in any given period as a result of revenue recognition guidance under accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S.;

 

·                   our ability to forecast demand and manage lead times for the manufacturing of our products;

 

·                   shortages in the availability of components used in our products, including components whose manufacturing lead times have increased significantly or may increase in the future;

 

·                   our ability to control costs, including our operating expenses and the costs of the components we purchase;

 

·                   our ability to develop and maintain relationships with our channel partners;

 

·                   our ability to develop and introduce new products and product enhancements that achieve market acceptance;

 

·                   any significant changes in the competitive dynamics of our markets, including new entrants, or further consolidation;

 

·                   reductions in customers’ budgets for information technology purchases and delays in their purchasing cycles;

 

·                   changes in the regulatory environment for the certification and sale of our products;

 

·                   claims of intellectual property infringement against us and any resulting temporary or permanent injunction prohibiting us from selling our products or the requirement to pay damages or expenses associated with any such claims; and

 

·                   general economic conditions in our domestic and international markets.

 

Further, as a result of customer buying patterns, historically we have received a substantial portion of a quarter’s sales orders and generated a substantial portion of a quarter’s revenues during the last two weeks of the quarter. If expected revenues at the end of any quarter are delayed for any reason, including the failure of anticipated purchase orders to materialize, our inability to deliver products prior to quarter-end to fulfill purchase orders received near the end of the quarter, our failure to manage inventory properly in a way to meet demand, or our inability to release new products on schedule, our revenues for that quarter could be materially and adversely affected and could fall below market expectations.

 

As a result of the above factors, or other factors, our operating results in one or more future periods may fail to meet or exceed the expectations of securities analysts or investors. In that event, the trading price of our common stock would likely decline.

 

We compete in a rapidly evolving market, and the failure to respond quickly and effectively to changing market requirements could cause our business and operating results to decline.

 

The wireless networking market is characterized by rapidly changing technology, changing customer needs, evolving industry standards and frequent introductions of new products and services. In order to deliver a competitive wireless LAN, our virtualized wireless LAN solution must be capable of operating with an ever increasing array of wireless devices and an increasingly complex network environment. In addition, our products are designed to be compatible with industry standards for communications over wireless networks. As new wireless devices are introduced and standards in the wireless networking market evolve, we may be required to modify our products and services to make them compatible with these new products and standards. Likewise, if our competitors introduce new products and services that compete with ours, we may be required to reposition our product and service offerings or introduce new products and services in response to such competitive pressure. For example, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE, is expected to approve a new standard, IEEE 802.11ac, in 2013. This is a major upgrade of IEEE 802.11 technologies that is designed to enable very high throughput operation for stations in Wi-Fi networks. We are actively working on developing IEEE 802.11ac solutions with our silicon partners. We may not be successful in modifying our current products or introducing new ones in a timely or

 

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appropriately responsive manner, or at all. If we fail to address these changes successfully, our business and operating results could be materially harmed.

 

We must increase market awareness of our brand and our solution and develop and expand our sales channels, and if we are unsuccessful, our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

 

We must improve the market awareness of our brand and solution and expand our relationships with our channel partners in order to increase our revenues. We intend to continue to add personnel and to expend resources in our sales and marketing functions as we focus on expanding awareness of our brand and our solution, capitalizing on our market opportunities and increasing our sales. Further, we believe that we must continue to develop our relationships with new and existing channel partners to effectively and efficiently extend our geographic reach and market penetration. Our efforts to improve sales of our solution could result in a material increase in our sales and marketing expense and general and administrative expense, and there can be no assurance that such efforts will be successful. If we are unable to significantly increase the awareness of our brand and solution, expand our relationships with channel partners, or effectively manage the costs associated with these efforts, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

 

We compete in highly competitive markets, and competitive pressures from existing and new companies may harm our business and operating results.

 

The markets in which we compete are highly competitive and influenced by the following competitive factors:

 

·                   performance, reliability and predictability of wireless networking solutions;

 

·                   initial price and total cost of ownership;

 

·                   comprehensiveness of the solution;

 

·                   ability to provide quality customer service and support;

 

·                   interoperability with other devices;

 

·                   scalability of solution;

 

·                   ability to provide secure mobile access to the network; and

 

·                  ability to bundle wireless products with other networking offerings.

 

We expect competition to intensify in the future as other companies introduce new products into our markets. This competition could result in increased pricing pressure, reduced profit margins, increased sales and marketing expenses and failure to increase, or the loss of, market share, any of which would likely seriously harm our business, operating results or financial condition. If we do not keep pace with product and technology advances, there could be a material and adverse effect on our competitive position, revenues and prospects for growth.

 

A number of our current or potential competitors have longer operating histories, greater name recognition, larger customer bases and significantly greater financial, technical, sales, marketing and other resources than we. As a result, our competitors may be able to adapt more quickly to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements, devote greater resources to the promotion and sale of their products and services, initiate or withstand substantial price competition, take advantage of acquisitions or other opportunities more readily and develop and expand their product and service offerings more quickly than we. Our competitors with larger volumes of orders and more diverse product offerings may require our VARs and distributors to stop selling our products, or to reduce their efforts to sell our products, which could harm our business and results of operations. In addition, certain of our competitors offer, or may in the future offer, more diverse product offerings and may be able to bundle wireless products with other networking offerings. Potential customers may prefer to purchase all of their equipment from a single provider, or may prefer to purchase wireless networking products from an existing supplier rather than a new supplier, regardless of product performance or features.

 

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We expect increased competition if our market continues to expand. Conditions in our markets could change rapidly and significantly as a result of technological advancements or other factors. In addition, current or potential competitors may be acquired by third parties with greater available resources, such as Motorola’s acquisition of Symbol Technologies, Hewlett-Packard’s acquisition of Colubris Networks and Juniper Networks’ acquisition of Trapeze Networks. As a result of such acquisitions, our current or potential competitors might take advantage of the greater resources of the larger organization to compete with us. Continued industry consolidation may adversely impact customers’ perceptions of the viability of smaller and even medium-sized wireless networking companies and, consequently, customers’ willingness to purchase from such companies.

 

If we are unable to hire, integrate and retain qualified personnel, our business will suffer.

 

Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to continue to attract, integrate and retain highly skilled personnel. Our inability to attract, integrate or retain qualified personnel, or delays in hiring required personnel, particularly in engineering and sales, may seriously harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Competition for highly skilled personnel is frequently intense, especially in the locations where we have a substantial presence and need for highly-skilled personnel, including the San Francisco Bay Area and India. We may not be successful in attracting qualified personnel to fulfill our current or future needs.

 

If we cannot effectively integrate and retain key employees, the execution of our business strategy may be significantly delayed or adversely impacted. For example, on March 18, 2012, our Board of Directors appointed Dr. Bami Bastani, who previously served as the president and CEO as well as in board of director positions in the mobility, consumer, and broadband markets, as President and CEO of Meru Networks and a member of our Board of Directors. During 2011, we hired a senior vice president to run our worldwide sales, service and support organization, a senior vice president to run our engineering organization and a senior vice president to run our marketing organization. Our success in the subsequent periods will depend a significant part on our ability to integrate them into our operations and their ability to enhance and implement our operations and strategy.

 

Often, significant amounts of time and resources are required to train technical, sales and other personnel. Qualified individuals are in high demand. We are currently increasing our investment in field sales personnel and we have no assurance that they will become fully productive in the time periods anticipated. We may incur significant costs to attract and retain them, and we may lose new employees to our competitors or other technology companies before we realize the benefit of our investment in recruiting and training them. We may be unable to attract and retain suitably qualified individuals who are capable of meeting our growing technical, operational and managerial requirements, on a timely basis or at all, and we may be required to pay increased compensation in order to do so. If we are unable to attract and retain the qualified personnel we need to succeed, our business would suffer.

 

None of our employees have employment agreements for specific terms, and any of our employees may terminate their employment at any time. Volatility or lack of performance in our stock price may also affect our ability to attract and retain our key employees. Many of our senior management personnel and other key employees have become, or will soon become, vested in a substantial amount of stock or stock options. Employees may be more likely to leave us if the shares they own or the shares underlying their vested options have significantly appreciated in value relative to the original purchase prices of the shares or the exercise prices of the options, or if the exercise prices of the options that they hold are significantly above the market price of our common stock. The loss of services of key employees could significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our strategic objectives, which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

 

Our strategy to rapidly increase our investments in sales and marketing programs and personnel may not generate the revenue increases anticipated or such revenue increases may only be realized over a longer period than currently expected.

 

Since early 2011, we substantially expanded our field sales organization to provide improved coverage of the growing number of business opportunities in our target markets, approximately doubling our sales headcount by early 2012. Significant ongoing efforts have been and are being made in training and on-boarding activities to assist new sales teams to become productive in a relatively short period of time. In addition, in late 2011 we made a variety of investments in marketing programs to complement the expansion of our field sales headcount. Market awareness of our capabilities and products is essential to our continued growth and our success in all of our markets. If our marketing programs

 

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are not successful in creating market awareness of our company and products or the timing and degree of increased revenues resulting from our increased sales and marketing efforts does not meet our expectations, our business, financial condition and results of operations may suffer materially, and we will not be able to achieve sustained growth.

 

Claims by others that we infringe their proprietary technology could harm our business.

 

Our industry is characterized by vigorous protection and pursuit of intellectual property rights, which has resulted in protracted and expensive litigation for many companies. Any claims or proceedings against us, whether meritorious or not, could be time consuming, result in costly litigation, require significant amounts of management time, result in the diversion of significant operational resources, or require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations. Third parties, including some of our competitors, have asserted and may in the future assert claims of infringement of intellectual property rights against us or against our customers or channel partners for which we may be liable. For example:

 

·                  On May 11, 2010, Extricom Ltd., filed suit against us in the Federal District Court of Delaware asserting infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,697,549.  Also on May 11, 2010, we filed a declaratory relief action against Extricom Ltd. in the Federal District Court for Northern California seeking a declaration that the Company is not infringing the Extricom Ltd. patent and that the patent is invalid. Our declaratory relief action in the Northern District of California was dismissed by the Court on August 31, 2010 in favor of the Delaware action on the ground that Extricom Ltd. filed its suit in the Federal District Court of Delaware first.  On October 7, 2010, we filed a motion to transfer the Delaware action to the Northern District of California based upon the convenience of witnesses and in the interests of justice.  On April 13, 2012, the parties entered into a settlement, license and release agreement where we have agreed to a one-time payment of approximately $2.4 million to Extricom Ltd., as well as a cross-license of each party’s patents in exchange for a full release and settlement of the litigation.  On April 17, 2012 the parties filed a joint stipulation to dismiss the action in the Federal District Court of Delaware to dismiss the litigation between the parties, which dismissal was accepted and ordered by the Court on April 23, 2012.

 

·                  On October 22, 2010, EON Corp. IP Holdings, LLC, filed suit against us and several other defendants in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas asserting infringement of U.S. Patent No. 5,592,491.  EON Corp. IP Holdings, LLC has amended its complaint to add additional defendants and to add specificity to certain of its claims.  Our response to the Amended Complaint was filed on March 7, 2011, denying the allegations of the complaint, and asserting that the EON patent is not infringed and is invalid. One of the co-defendants in the action filed a motion to transfer the case to the Northern District of California, and the Company joined in the motion to transfer.  On February 29, 2012, the case was transferred to the Northern District of California.  No case schedule has been set in the California action. The EON Corp. IP Holdings, LLC Amended Complaint seeks unspecified monetary damages and injunctive relief.  At this time, we are unable to determine the outcome of this matter and, accordingly, cannot estimate the potential financial impact this action could have on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial position.

 

·                  On June 2, 2011, the United States International Trade Commission instituted a Section 337 Investigation, based on allegations that Linex Technologies, Inc.’s (“Linex”) U.S. Patents relating to multiple-input-multiple-output technology are infringed by 802.11n products imported and sold by us—as well as by Hewlett-Packard, Apple, Aruba Networks, and Ruckus Wireless.  On April 2, 2012, Linex filed a motion to terminate the Investigation based on withdrawal of the complaint.  On April 3, 2012, Administrative Law Judge Thomas B. Pender granted Linex’s motion and as a result, the Investigation has been terminated in its entirety.

 

·                  We previously received letters from, and had lengthy discussions with Motorola, one of our competitors with a large patent portfolio and substantial resources, alleging that our products infringe upon certain of its patents. Those negotiations ultimately resulted in us entering into a cross license with Motorola under which we agreed to pay Motorola $7.3 million, which was paid out during the quarter ended September 30, 2011.

 

Third parties have from time to time claimed, and others may claim in the future, that we have infringed their past, current or future intellectual property rights. These claims, whether meritorious or not, could be time-consuming, result in costly litigation, require expensive changes to our products or could require us to enter into

 

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costly royalty or licensing agreements, if available. As a result, these claims could harm our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial position.

 

As our business expands and the number of products and competitors in our market increases and overlaps occur, we expect that infringement claims may increase in number and significance. Intellectual property lawsuits are subject to inherent uncertainties due to the complexity of the technical issues involved, and we cannot be certain that we will be successful in defending ourselves against intellectual property claims. In addition, we currently have a limited portfolio of issued patents compared to our major competitors, and therefore may not be able to effectively utilize our intellectual property portfolio to assert defenses or counterclaims in response to patent infringement claims or litigation brought against us by third parties. Further, litigation may involve patent holding companies or other adverse patent owners who have no relevant products revenues and against whom our potential patents may provide little or no deterrence, and many of potential litigants have the capability to dedicate substantially greater resources to enforce their intellectual property rights and to defend claims that may be brought against them. Furthermore, a successful claimant could secure a judgment that requires us to pay substantial damages or prevents us from distributing certain products or performing certain services. We might also be required to seek a license and pay royalties for the use of such intellectual property, which may not be available on commercially acceptable terms or at all. Alternatively, we may be required to develop non-infringing technology, which could require significant effort and expense and may ultimately not be successful.

 

In addition, much of our business relies on, and many of our products incorporate, proprietary technologies of third parties. We may not be able to obtain, or continue to obtain, licenses from such third parties on reasonable terms, and such licensing may increase our exposure to claims of infringement by other third parties.

 

If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights, our competitive position could be harmed or we could be required to incur significant expenses to enforce our rights.

 

We depend on our ability to protect our proprietary technology. We protect our proprietary information and technology through licensing agreements, nondisclosure agreements and other contractual provisions, as well as through patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws in the U.S. and similar laws in other countries. These protections may not be available in all cases or may be inadequate to prevent our competitors from copying, reverse engineering or otherwise obtaining and using our technology, proprietary rights or products. The laws of some foreign countries may not be as protective of intellectual property rights as those in the United States, and mechanisms for enforcement of intellectual property rights may be inadequate. For example, the laws of India, where we conduct significant research and development activities, do not protect our proprietary rights to the same extent as the laws of the U.S. In addition, third parties may seek to challenge, invalidate or circumvent our patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets, or applications for any of the foregoing. Our competitors may independently develop technologies that are substantially equivalent, or superior, to our technology or design around our proprietary rights. In each case, our ability to compete could be significantly impaired.

 

To prevent substantial unauthorized use of our intellectual property rights, it may be necessary to prosecute actions for infringement or misappropriation of our proprietary rights against third parties. Any such action could result in significant costs and diversion of our resources and management’s attention, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in such action. Furthermore, many of our current and potential competitors have the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to enforce their intellectual property rights than we. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing or misappropriating our intellectual property.

 

We have a limited patent portfolio. To date, we have not applied for patent protection outside of the U.S. While we plan to protect our intellectual property with, among other things, patent protection, there can be no assurance that:

 

·                  current or future U.S. or future foreign patent applications will be approved;

 

·                  our issued patents will protect our intellectual property and not be held invalid or unenforceable if challenged by third parties;

 

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·                  we will succeed in protecting our technology adequately in all key jurisdictions in which we or our competitors operate;

 

·                  the patents of others will not have an adverse effect on our ability to do business; or

 

·                  others will not independently develop similar or competing products or methods or design around any patents that may be issued to us.

 

The failure to obtain patents with claims of a scope necessary to cover our technology, or the invalidation or our patents, or our inability to protect any of our intellectual property, may weaken our competitive position and may materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

 

We might be required to spend significant resources to monitor and protect our intellectual property rights. We may initiate claims or litigation against third parties for infringement of our proprietary rights or to establish the validity of our proprietary rights. Any litigation, whether or not it is resolved in our favor, could result in significant expense to us and divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel, which may adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.

 

If the demand for wireless networks does not continue to develop as we anticipate, demand for our virtualized wireless LAN solution may not grow as we expect.

 

The success of our business depends on enterprises continuing to adopt wireless networks for use with their business-critical applications. The market for enterprise-wide wireless networks has only developed in recent years as enterprises have deployed wireless networks to take advantage of the convenient access to the network that they provide. As businesses seek to run their business-critical applications on these wireless networks, they recognize the limitations of other wireless solutions and the need for our virtualized wireless LAN solution. Ultimately, however, enterprises may not elect to deploy wireless networks and may not elect to run their business-critical applications on a wireless network. Accordingly, demand for our solution may not continue to develop as we anticipate, or at all.

 

Our sales cycles can be long and unpredictable. As a result, our sales are difficult to predict and may vary substantially from quarter to quarter, which may cause our operating results to fluctuate significantly.

 

The timing of our sales is difficult to predict. Our sales efforts involve educating our customers about the use and benefits of our virtualized wireless LAN solution, including the technical capabilities of our products and the potential cost savings achievable by organizations deploying our solution. Customers typically undertake a significant evaluation process, which frequently involves not only our products but also those of our competitors and can result in a lengthy sales cycle. We spend substantial time, effort and money in our sales efforts without any assurance that our efforts will produce any sales. In addition, purchases of our virtualized wireless LAN solution are frequently subject to budget constraints, multiple approvals, and unplanned administrative, processing and other delays. If sales expected from a specific customer for a particular quarter are not realized in that quarter or at all, our operating results could be materially and adversely affected.

 

Our revenues may decline as a result of changes in public funding of educational institutions.

 

We have historically generated a substantial portion of our revenues from sales to educational institutions. Public schools receive funding from local tax revenue, and from state and federal governments through a variety of programs, many of which seek to assist schools located in underprivileged or rural areas. We believe that the funding for a substantial portion of our sales to educational institutions comes from federal funding, in particular the E-Rate program. E-Rate is a program of the Federal Communications Commission that subsidizes the purchase of approved telecommunications, Internet access, and internal connections costs for eligible public educational institutions. In the event that the federal government reduces the amounts dedicated to the E-Rate program in future periods, or eliminates the program completely, our sales to educational institutions may be reduced. Furthermore, if state or local funding of public education is significantly reduced because of legislative changes or by fluctuations in tax revenues due to changing economic conditions, our sales to educational institutions may be negatively impacted. Any reduction in spending on information technology systems by educational institutions would likely materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

 

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Seasonality may cause fluctuations in our operating results.

 

We believe that there can be significant seasonal factors that may cause the first and third quarters of our fiscal year to have relatively weaker products revenues than the second and fourth fiscal quarters. We believe that this seasonality results from a number of factors, including:

 

·                                 customers with a December 31 fiscal year end may choose to spend remaining budgets before their year end resulting in a positive impact on our products revenues in the fourth quarter of our fiscal year;

 

·                                 the structure of our direct sales compensation program may provide additional financial incentives to our sales personnel for exceeding their annual goals;

 

·                                 the timing of our annual training for the entire sales force in our first fiscal quarter combined with the above fourth quarter factors can potentially cause our first fiscal quarter to be seasonally weak;

 

·                                 many of our education customers have procurement and deployment cycles that can result in stronger order flow in our second fiscal quarter than other quarters assuming the continued availability of traditional funding sources, such as the E-Rate program in the United States; and

 

·                                 seasonal reductions in business activity during the summer months in the United States, Europe and certain other regions may have a negative impact on our third quarter revenues.

 

We believe that our historical growth, variations in the amount of orders booked in a prior quarter but not shipped until a later quarter and other variations in the amount of deferred revenues may have overshadowed the nature or magnitude of seasonal or cyclical factors that might have influenced our business to date. In addition, the timing of one or more large transactions may overshadow seasonal factors in any particular quarterly period. Seasonal or cyclical variations in our operations may become more pronounced over time and may materially affect our results of operations in the future.

 

The average sales prices of our products may decrease.

 

The average sales prices for our products may decline for a variety of reasons, including competitive pricing pressures, a change in our mix of products, anticipation of the introduction of new products or promotional programs. The markets in which we compete are highly competitive and we expect this competition to increase in the future, thereby leading to increased pricing pressures. Larger competitors with more diverse product offerings may reduce the price of products that compete with ours in order to promote the sale of other products or may bundle them with other products. For example, some of our large competitors who provide network switching equipment may offer a wireless overlay network at very low prices or on a bundled basis. Furthermore, average sales prices for our products have typically decreased over product life cycles. A decline in our average selling prices in excess of our expectations may harm our operating results.

 

We expect our gross margin to vary over time, and our level of gross margin may not be sustainable.

 

Our level of gross margin may not be sustainable and may be adversely affected by numerous factors, including:

 

·                  increased price competition;

 

·                  changes in customer or product and service mix;

 

·                  introduction of new products;

 

·                  our ability to reduce production costs;

 

·                  increases in material or labor costs;

 

·                  increased costs of licensing third party technologies that are used in our products;

 

·                  excess inventory, inventory holding charges and obsolescence charges;

 

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·                  the timing of revenue recognition and revenue deferrals;

 

·                  changes in our distribution channels or with our channel sales partners;

 

·                  increased warranty costs; and

 

·                  inbound shipping charges.

 

As a result of any of these factors, or other factors, our gross margin may be adversely affected, which in turn would harm our operating results.

 

We rely on channel partners to generate a substantial majority of our revenues. If our partners fail to perform, our operating results could be materially and adversely affected.

 

A substantial majority of our revenues is generated through sales by our channel partners, which are distributors and VARs. Sales through our channel partners accounted for 93% and 87% of our total net revenues during the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Sales through our channel partners accounted for 92% of our total net revenues during the year ended December 31, 2011. To the extent our channel partners are unsuccessful in selling our products, or we are unable to obtain and retain a sufficient number of high-quality channel partners, our operating results could be materially and adversely affected.

 

Westcon Group and Catalyst Telecom distribute a significant amount of our products worldwide. Resale of product through Westcon Group and Catalyst Telecom accounted for 42%, 46% and 35% of our worldwide net revenues in 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

 

Our channel partners may be unsuccessful in marketing, selling and supporting our products and services. They may also market, sell and support products and services that are competitive with ours, and may devote more resources to the marketing, sales and support of such products. They may have incentives to promote our competitors’ products in lieu of our products, particularly for our competitors with larger volumes of orders, more diverse product offerings and a longer relationship with our VARs or distributors. In these cases, our channel partners may stop selling our products completely. New sales channel partners may take several months or more to achieve significant sales. Our channel partner sales structure could subject us to lawsuits, potential liability and reputational harm if, for example, any of our channel partners misrepresents the functionality of our products or services to customers, violate laws or our corporate policies. If we fail to effectively manage our existing or future sales channel partners, our business would be seriously harmed.

 

We base our inventory purchase decisions on our forecasts of customers’ demand, and if our forecasts are inaccurate, our operating results could be materially harmed.

 

We place orders with our manufacturers based on our forecasts of our customers’ demand. Our forecasts are based on multiple assumptions, each of which may introduce errors into our estimates affecting our ability to service our customers. When demand for our products increases significantly, we may not be able to meet demand on a timely basis, and we may need to expend a significant amount of time working with our customers to allocate limited supply and maintain positive customer relations, or we may incur additional costs in order to rush the manufacture and delivery of additional inventory. If we underestimate customer demand, we may forego revenue opportunities, lose market share and damage our customer relationships. Conversely, if we overestimate customer demand, we may purchase more inventory than we are able to sell when we expect to or at all. As a result, we could have excess or obsolete inventory, resulting in a decline in the value of our inventory, which would increase our costs of revenues and reduce our liquidity. Our failure to accurately manage inventory against demand would adversely affect our operating results.

 

Our virtualized wireless LAN solution incorporates complex technology and may contain defects or errors, which could cause harm to our reputation and adversely affect our business.

 

Our virtualized wireless LAN solution incorporates complex technology and must operate with a significant number and types of wireless devices, which attempt to run new and complex applications in a variety of environments that utilize different wireless communication industry standards. Our products have contained and

 

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may in the future contain defects or errors. In some cases, these defects or errors have delayed the introduction of our new products. Some errors in our products may only be discovered after a product has been installed and used by customers. These issues are most prevalent when new products are introduced into the market. Any errors or defects discovered in our products, after commercial release could result in loss of revenues or delay in revenue recognition, loss of customers, damage to our brand and reputation, and increased service and warranty cost, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.

 

We could face claims for product liability, tort or breach of warranty, including claims relating to changes to our products made by our channel partners. Our contracts with customers contain provisions relating to warranty disclaimers and liability limitations, which may not be upheld. Defending a lawsuit, regardless of its merit, is costly and may divert management’s attention and adversely affect the market’s perception of us and our products.

 

If we fail to develop new products and enhancements to our virtualized wireless LAN solution, we may not be able to remain competitive.

 

We must develop new products and continue to enhance our virtualized wireless LAN solution to meet rapidly evolving customer requirements. If we fail to develop new products or enhancements to our existing products, our business could be adversely affected, especially if our competitors are able to introduce products with enhanced functionality. In addition, as new mobile applications are introduced, our success may depend on our ability to provide a solution that supports these applications.

 

We are subject to a number of industry standards established by various standards bodies, such as the IEEE, and we design our products to comply with these standards. As new industry standards emerge, we could be required to invest a substantial amount of resources to develop new products that comply with these standards. For example, we devoted a substantial amount of our research and development resources to design a virtualized wireless LAN solution that could optimize the performance allowed by the 802.11n standard. In addition, the IEEE is expected to approve a new standard, IEEE 802.11ac, in 2013. This is a major upgrade of IEEE 802.11 technologies that is designed to enable very high throughput operation for stations in Wi-Fi networks. We are actively working on developing IEEE 802.11ac solutions with our silicon partners. If we are not able to adapt to new or changing standards that are ratified by the IEEE or other standards bodies, our ability to sell our products may be adversely affected and we may not realize the benefits of our research and development efforts.

 

Our research and development efforts relating to new products and technologies are time-consuming, costly and complex. If we expend a significant amount of resources on research and development and our efforts do not lead to the successful introduction of products that are competitive in the marketplace, this could materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.

 

Although certain technical problems experienced by users may not be caused by our virtualized wireless LAN solution, our business and reputation may be harmed if users perceive our solution as the cause of a slow or unreliable network connection.

 

Our solution has been deployed in many different environments and is capable of providing wireless access to many different types of wireless devices operating a variety of applications. The ability of our virtualized wireless LAN solution to operate effectively can be negatively impacted by many different elements unrelated to our products. For example, a user’s experience may suffer from an incorrect setting in a wireless device, which is not a problem caused by the network. Although certain technical problems experienced by users may not be caused by our solution, users often perceive the underlying cause to be a result of poor performance of the wireless network. This perception, even if incorrect, could harm our business and reputation.

 

Our international sales and operations subject us to additional risks that may materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.

 

We derive a significant portion of our revenues from customers outside the U.S. During the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, 50% and 44% of our revenues were derived from customers outside of the U.S. While our international sales have typically been denominated in U.S. dollars, fluctuations in currency exchange rates could cause our products to become relatively more expensive to customers in a particular country, leading to a reduction in sales or profitability in that country.

 

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In addition, we have a research and development facility located in India, and we expect to expand our offshore development efforts and general and administrative functions within India and possibly in other countries. We have sales and support personnel in numerous countries worldwide. We expect to continue to add personnel in additional countries.

 

Our international operations subject us to a variety of risks, including:

 

·                  the difficulty of managing and staffing international offices and the increased travel, infrastructure and legal compliance costs associated with multiple international locations;

 

·                   difficulties in enforcing contracts and collecting accounts receivable, and longer payment cycles, especially in emerging markets;

 

·                   tariffs and trade barriers, export regulations and other regulatory or contractual limitations on our ability to sell or develop our products in certain foreign markets;

 

·                   increased exposure to foreign currency exchange rate risk;

 

·                   heightened exposure to political and economic instability, war and terrorism;

 

·                   reduced protection for intellectual property rights in some countries;

 

·                   costs of compliance with, and the risks and costs of non-compliance with,  differing and changing regulatory and legal requirements in the jurisdictions in which we operate;

 

·                   heightened risks of unfair or corrupt business practices in certain geographies and of improper or fraudulent sales arrangements that may impact financial results and result in restatements of, and irregularities in, financial statements;

 

·                   multiple conflicting tax laws and regulations;

 

·                   the need to localize our products for international customers; and

 

·                   increased cost of terminating employees in some countries.

 

As we continue to expand our business globally, our success will depend, in large part, on our ability to anticipate and effectively manage these and other risks associated with our international operations. Our failure to manage any of these risks successfully could harm our international operations and reduce our international sales, adversely affecting our business, operating results and financial condition.

 

Another significant risk resulting from our international operations is compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, and other anti-bribery laws applicable to our operations. In many foreign countries, particularly in those with developing economies, it may be a local custom that businesses operating in such countries engage in business practices that are prohibited by the FCPA or other U.S. and foreign laws and regulations applicable to us. Although we have implemented procedures designed to ensure compliance with the FCPA and similar laws, there can be no assurance that all of our employees, agents and other channel partners, as well as those companies to which we outsource certain of our business operations, will not take actions in violation of our policies. Any such violation could have a material and adverse effect on our business.

 

Our product and service sales may be subject to foreign governmental regulations, which vary substantially from country to country and change from time to time. Failure to comply with these regulations could adversely affect our business. Further, in many foreign countries it is common for others to engage in business practices that are prohibited by our internal policies and procedures or U.S. regulations applicable to us. Although we implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with these laws and policies, there can be no assurance that all of our employees, contractors, channel partners and agents will comply with these laws and policies. Violations of laws or key control policies by our employees, contractors, channel partners or agents could result in delays in revenue recognition, financial reporting misstatements, fines, penalties or the prohibition of the importation or exportation of our products and services and could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

 

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Our use of and reliance on research and development resources in India may expose us to unanticipated costs or events.

 

We have a significant research and development center in Bangalore, India and, in recent years, have increased headcount and development activity at this facility. There is no assurance that our reliance upon research and development resources in India will enable us to achieve meaningful cost reductions or greater resource efficiency. Further, our research and development efforts and other operations in India involve significant risks, including:

 

·                  difficulty hiring and retaining appropriate engineering personnel due to intense competition for such resources and resulting wage inflation;

 

·                  the knowledge transfer related to our technology and resulting exposure to misappropriation of intellectual property or information that is proprietary to us, our customers and other third parties;

 

·                  heightened exposure to change in the economic, security and political conditions in India;

 

·                  fluctuations in currency exchange rates and regulatory compliance in India; and

 

·                  interruptions to our operations in India as a result of floods and other natural catastrophic events as well as manmade problems such as power disruptions or terrorism.

 

Difficulties resulting from the factors above and other risks related to our operations in India could expose us to increased expense, impair our development efforts and harm our competitive position.

 

We rely on third parties to manufacture our products, and depend on them for the supply and quality of our products.

 

We outsource the manufacturing of our products, and are therefore subject to the risk that our third-party manufacturers do not provide our customers with the quality and performance that they expect from our products. Our orders may represent a relatively small percentage of the overall orders received by our manufacturers from their customers. As a result, fulfilling our orders may not be considered a priority in the event our manufacturers are constrained in their ability to fulfill all of their customer obligations in a timely manner. We must also accurately predict the number of products that we will require. If we overestimate our requirements, our manufacturers may assess charges, or we may incur liabilities for excess inventory, each of which could negatively affect our gross margins. Conversely, if we underestimate our requirements, our manufacturers may have inadequate materials and components required to produce our products. This could result in an interruption of the manufacturing of our products, delays in shipments and deferral or loss of revenues. Quality or performance failures of our products or changes in our manufacturers’ financial or business condition could disrupt our ability to supply quality products to our customers and thereby have a material and adverse effect on our business and operating results.

 

Some of the components and technologies used in our products are purchased and licensed from a single source or a limited number of sources. The loss of any of these suppliers may cause us to incur additional transition costs, result in delays in the manufacturing and delivery of our products, or cause us to carry excess or obsolete inventory and could cause us to redesign our products.

 

While supplies of our components are generally available from a variety of sources, we currently depend on a single source or limited number of sources for several components for our products. For example, the chipsets that we use in our products are currently available only from a limited number of sources, with whom neither we nor our manufacturers have entered into supply agreements. We have also entered into license agreements with some of our suppliers for technologies that are used in our products, and the termination of these licenses, which can generally be done on relatively short notice, could have a material adverse effect on our business. For example, our access points incorporate certain technology that we license from Atheros Communications, Inc., or Atheros. We have entered into a license agreement with Atheros, and such license agreement automatically renews for successive one-year periods unless the agreement is terminated prior to the end of the then-current term. In the event our license agreement with Atheros is terminated, we would be required to redesign some of our products in order to incorporate technology from alternative sources, and any such termination of the license agreement and redesign of certain of our products could require additional licenses and materially and adversely affect our business.

 

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As there are no other sources identical to these components and technologies, if we lost any of these suppliers, we could be required to transition to a new supplier, which could increase our costs, result in delays in the manufacturing and delivery of our products or cause us to carry excess or obsolete inventory, and we could be required to redesign our hardware and software in order to incorporate components or technologies from alternative sources.

 

In addition, for certain components for which there are multiple sources, we are still subject to potential price increases and limited availability due to market demand for such components. In the past, unexpected demand for communication products caused worldwide shortages of certain electronic parts. If such shortages occur in the future, our business would be adversely affected. We carry very little inventory of our products, and we and our manufacturers rely on our suppliers to deliver necessary components in a timely manner. We and our manufacturers rely on purchase orders rather than long-term contracts with these suppliers, and as a result, even if available, we or our manufacturers may not be able to secure sufficient components at reasonable prices or of acceptable quality to build products in a timely manner and, therefore, may not be able to meet customer demands for our products, which would have a material and adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial condition.

 

We rely on a third party for the fulfillment of our customer orders, and the failure of this third party to perform could have an adverse effect upon our reputation and our ability to distribute our products, which could cause a material reduction in our revenues.

 

We use a third party to hold our inventory and fulfill our customer orders. If our third-party fulfillment agent fails to perform, our ability to deliver our products and to generate revenues would be adversely affected. The failure of our third-party logistics provider to deliver products in a timely manner could lead to the dissatisfaction of our channel partners and customers and damage our reputation, which may cause our channel partners or customers to cancel existing agreements with us and to stop doing business with us. In addition, this reliance on a third-party logistics provider also may impact the timing of our revenue recognition if our logistics provider fails to deliver orders during the prescribed time period. Although we believe that alternative logistics providers are readily available in the market, in the event we are unexpectedly forced to change providers we could experience short-term disruptions in our delivery and fulfillment process that could adversely affect our business.

 

Our ability to sell our products is highly dependent on the quality of our support and services offerings, and our failure to offer high-quality support and services could have a material and adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

 

Once our products are deployed within our customers’ networks, they depend on our support organization to resolve any issues relating to our products. High-quality support is critical for the continued successful marketing and sale of our products. If we or our channel partners do not effectively assist our customers in deploying our products, succeed in helping our customers quickly resolve post-deployment issues, or provide effective ongoing support, it could adversely affect our ability to sell our products to existing customers and could harm our reputation with potential customers. In addition, as we expand our operations internationally, our support organization will face additional challenges including those associated with delivering support, training and documentation in languages other than English. Our failure or the failure of our channel partners to maintain high-quality support and services could have a material and adverse effect on our business and operating results.

 

We may engage in future acquisitions that could disrupt our business, cause dilution to our stockholders and harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

 

We completed our first acquisition, that of Identity Networks, in 2011. In the future we may acquire other businesses, products or technologies. If we do complete acquisitions, we may not ultimately strengthen our competitive position or achieve our goals, or such acquisitions may be viewed negatively by customers, financial markets or investors. We may also face additional challenges, because acquisitions entail numerous risks, including:

 

·                  difficulties in the integration of acquired operations, technologies, personnel and/or products;

 

·                  unanticipated costs associated with the acquisition transaction;

 

·                  the diversion of management’s attention from the regular operations of the business and the challenges of managing larger and more widespread operations;

 

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·                  adverse effects on new and existing business relationships with suppliers and customers;

 

·                  risks associated with entering geographic or business markets in which we have no or limited prior experience;

 

·                  the potential loss of key employees of acquired businesses;

 

·                  an acquisition may result in a delay or reduction of customer purchases for both us and the company acquired due to customer uncertainty about continuity and effectiveness of products and services from either company; and

 

·                  delays in realizing or failure to realize the benefits of an acquisition.

 

Competition within our industry for acquisitions of businesses, technologies, assets and product lines has been, and may in the future continue to be, intense. As such, even if we are able to identify an acquisition that we would like to consummate, we may not be able to complete the acquisition on commercially reasonable terms or because the target is acquired by another company. Furthermore, in the event that we are able to identify and consummate any future acquisitions, we could:

 

·                  issue equity securities which would dilute current stockholders’ percentage ownership;

 

·                  incur substantial debt;

 

·                  incur significant acquisition-related expenses;

 

·                  assume contingent liabilities; or

 

·                  expend significant cash.

 

Our reported financial results may be adversely affected by changes in accounting principles applicable to us.

 

Generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. are subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and other various bodies formed to promulgate and interpret appropriate accounting principles. A change in these principles or interpretations could have a significant effect on our reported financial results, and could affect the reporting of transactions completed before the announcement of a change. Any difficulties in the implementation of these pronouncements could cause us to fail to meet our financial reporting obligations, which could result in regulatory discipline.

 

In addition, the SEC has announced a multi-year plan that could ultimately lead to the use of International Financial Reporting Standards by U.S. issuers in their SEC filings. Any such change could have a significant effect on our reported financial results.

 

If our estimates or judgments relating to our critical accounting policies are based on assumptions that change or prove to be incorrect, our operating results could fall below expectations of securities analysts and investors, resulting in a decline in our stock price.

 

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Our operating results may be adversely affected if our assumptions change or if actual circumstances differ from those in our assumptions, which could cause our operating results to fall below market expectations, resulting in a decline in our stock price. Significant assumptions and estimates used in preparing our consolidated financial statements include those related to revenue recognition, stock-based compensation, valuation of inventory, fair value of financial instruments, allowance for doubtful accounts, and accounting for income taxes.

 

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We are subject to governmental export and import controls that could subject us to liability or impair our ability to compete in international markets.

 

Our products incorporate encryption technology and are subject to United States export controls, and may be exported outside the U.S. only with the required level of export license or through an export license exception. In addition, various countries regulate the import of certain encryption technology and have enacted laws that could limit our ability to distribute our products or could limit our customers’ ability to implement our products in those countries. Changes in our products or changes in export and import regulations may create delays in the introduction of our products in international markets, prevent our customers with international operations from deploying our products throughout their global systems or, in some cases, prevent the export or import of our products to certain countries altogether. Any change in export or import regulations or related legislation, shift in approach to the enforcement or scope of existing regulations, or change in the countries, persons or technologies targeted by such regulations, could result in decreased use of our products by, or in our decreased ability to export or sell our products to, existing or potential customers with international operations.

 

In addition, we have implemented limited procedures to ensure our compliance with export regulations, and if our export compliance procedures are not effective, we could be subject to civil or criminal penalties, which could lead to a material fine or sanction that could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

 

Our use of open source software could impose limitations on our ability to commercialize our products.

 

Our products contain software modules licensed for use from third-party authors under open source licenses, including the GNU Public License, the GNU Lesser Public License, the Apache License and others. Use and distribution of open source software may entail greater risks than use of third-party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or other contractual protections regarding infringement claims or the quality of the code. Some open source licenses contain requirements that we make available source code for modifications or derivative works we create based upon the type of open source software we use. If we combine our proprietary software with open source software in a certain manner, we could, under certain of the open source licenses, be required to release the source code of our proprietary software to the public. This could allow our competitors to create similar products with lower development effort and time and ultimately could result in a loss of product sales for us.

 

Although we monitor our use of open source closely, the terms of many open source licenses have not been interpreted by U.S. courts, and there is a risk that such licenses could be construed in a manner that could impose unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to commercialize our products. In such event, we could be required to seek licenses from third parties in order to continue offering our products, to re-engineer our products or to discontinue the sale of our products in the event re-engineering cannot be accomplished on a timely basis, any of which could materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.

 

If we do not appropriately manage any future growth, or are unable to improve our systems and processes, our operating results could be negatively affected.

 

Our future growth, if it occurs, could place significant demands on our management, infrastructure and other resources. We may need to increasingly rely on IT systems, some of which we do not currently have significant experience in operating, to help manage critical functions. To manage any future growth effectively, we must continue to improve and expand our information technology and financial infrastructure, operating and administrative systems and controls, and continue to manage headcount, capital and processes in an efficient manner. We may not be able to successfully implement improvements to these systems and processes in a timely or efficient manner, which could result in additional operating inefficiencies and could cause our costs to increase more than planned. If we do increase our operating expenses in anticipation of the growth of our business and this growth does not meet our expectations, our financial results may be negatively impacted. In addition, our systems and processes may not prevent or detect all errors, omissions or fraud. Our failure to improve our systems and processes, or their failure to operate in the intended manner, may result in our inability to manage the growth of our business and to accurately forecast our revenues, expenses and earnings, or to prevent certain losses. Any future growth would add complexity to our organization and require effective coordination within our organization. Failure to manage any future growth effectively could result in increased costs and harm our business.

 

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Our business, operating results and growth rates may be adversely affected by unfavorable economic or market conditions.

 

Our business depends on the overall demand for IT and on the economic health of our current and prospective customers. Our current business and operating plan assumes that economic activity in general, and IT spending in particular, will at least remain at close to current levels. We cannot be assured of the level of IT spending, however, the deterioration of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and growth rates. The purchase of our products involves a significant commitment of capital and other resources, therefore, weak economic conditions, or a reduction in IT spending, even if economic conditions improve, would likely adversely impact our business, operating results and financial condition in a number of ways, including longer sales cycles, lower prices for our products and services, and reduced unit sales. For example, we believe that the recent economic downturns in the U.S. and international markets adversely affected our business as customers and potential customers reduced costs by reducing or delaying purchasing decisions. Any unfavorable economic or market conditions could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

 

We are exposed to the credit risk of our VARs, distributors and customers, which could result in material losses and negatively impact our operating results.

 

Most of our sales are on an open credit basis, with typical payment terms of 30 days in the U.S. and, because of local customs or conditions, longer in some markets outside the U.S. If any of our VARs, distributors or customers becomes insolvent or suffers a deterioration in its financial or business condition and is unable to pay for our products, our results of operations could be harmed.

 

Our ability to use net operating losses to offset future taxable income may be subject to certain limitations.

 

In general, under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change” is subject to limitations on its ability to utilize its pre-change net operating losses, or NOLs, to offset future taxable income. Our existing NOLs may be subject to limitations arising from previous ownership changes, and if we undergo an ownership change in the future, our ability to utilize NOLs could be further limited by Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. Future changes in our stock ownership, many of which are outside of our control, could result in an ownership change under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. Our net operating losses may also be impaired under state law. We may not be able to utilize a material portion of the NOLs. At December 31, 2011, we had federal and state net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $126.6 million and $113.5 million, respectively, expiring in 2022 and 2012, respectively.

 

Changes in our provision for income taxes or adverse outcomes resulting from examination of our income tax returns could adversely affect our results.

 

Our provision for income taxes is subject to volatility and could be adversely affected by the following:

 

·                  earnings being lower than anticipated in countries that have lower tax rates and higher than anticipated in countries that have higher tax rates;

 

·                  changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities;

 

·                  expiration of, or lapses in, the research and development tax credit laws;

 

·                  transfer pricing adjustments including the effect of acquisitions on our intercompany research and development cost sharing arrangement and legal structure;

 

·                  tax effects of nondeductible compensation;

 

·                  tax costs related to intercompany realignments;

 

·                  changes in accounting principles; or

 

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·                  changes in tax laws and regulations including possible U.S. changes to the taxation of earnings of our foreign subsidiaries, and the deductibility of expenses attributable to foreign income, or the foreign tax credit rules.

 

Significant judgment is required to determine the recognition and measurement attributes prescribed in the accounting guidance for uncertainty in income taxes. The accounting guidance for uncertainty in income taxes applies to all income tax positions, including the potential recovery of previously paid taxes, which if settled unfavorably could adversely impact our provision for income taxes or additional paid-in capital. Further, as a result of certain of our ongoing employment and capital investment actions and commitments, our income in certain countries is subject to reduced tax rates. Our failure to meet these commitments could adversely impact our provision for income taxes. In addition, we are subject to the examination of our income tax returns by the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities. We regularly assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes. The outcomes from these examinations may have a material and adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.

 

New regulations or changes in existing regulations related to our products may result in unanticipated costs or liabilities, which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, results of operations and future sales, and could place additional burdens on the operations of our business.

 

Our products are subject to governmental regulations in a variety of jurisdictions. If any of our products becomes subject to new regulations or if any of our products becomes specifically regulated by additional government entities, compliance with such regulations could become more burdensome, and there could be a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations. For example, radio emissions are subject to regulation in the U.S. and in other countries in which we do business. In the U.S., various federal agencies including the Center for Devices and Radiological Health of the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Communications Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and various state agencies have promulgated regulations that concern the use of radio/electromagnetic emissions standards. Member countries of the European Union have enacted similar standards concerning electrical safety and electromagnetic compatibility and emissions standards.

 

In addition, our wireless communication products operate through the transmission of radio signals. Currently, operation of these products in specified frequency bands does not require licensing by regulatory authorities. Regulatory changes restricting the use of frequency bands or allocating available frequencies could become more burdensome and could have a material and adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

 

Our business is subject to the risks of earthquakes, fire, floods and other natural catastrophic events, and to interruption by manmade problems such as power disruptions or terrorism.

 

Our corporate headquarters are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, a region known for seismic activity. We also have significant research and development activities in India and facilities in Japan, regions known for typhoons, floods and other natural disasters. A significant natural disaster, such as an earthquake, fire or a flood, occurring at our headquarters, our other facilities or where our ODMs and channel partners are located, could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, acts of terrorism could cause disruptions in our or our customers’ businesses or the economy as a whole. We also rely on information technology systems to communicate among our workforce located worldwide, and in particular, our research and development activities that are coordinated between our corporate headquarters in the San Francisco Bay Area and our facility in India. Any disruption to our internal communications, whether caused by a natural disaster or by manmade problems, such as power disruptions, could delay our research and development efforts. To the extent that such disruptions result in delays or cancellations of customer orders, our research and development efforts or the deployment of our products, our business and operating results would be materially and adversely affected.

 

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, our ability to produce accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be impaired.

 

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the rules and regulations of The NASDAQ Stock Market. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal, accounting and

 

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financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming and costly and place undue strain on our personnel, systems and resources.

 

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We are continuing to develop and refine our disclosure controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC’s rules and forms.

 

Our current controls and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, and the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Further, weaknesses in our internal controls may be discovered in the future. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls, or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement, could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our prior period financial statements. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal controls also could adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations and annual auditor attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that we are required to include in our periodic reports filed with the SEC under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock.

 

In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, we have expended, and anticipate that we will continue to expend, significant resources and provide significant management oversight, which involve substantial accounting-related costs. Any failure to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, or consequent inability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis, could increase our operating costs and could materially impair our ability to operate our business. In the event that we are not able to continue to demonstrate compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in a timely manner, that our internal controls are perceived as inadequate or that we are unable to produce timely or accurate financial statements, investors may lose confidence in our operating results and our stock price could decline. In addition, if we are unable to continue to meet these requirements, we may not be able to remain listed on The NASDAQ Global Market.

 

We have not yet implemented a complete disaster recovery plan or business continuity plan for our accounting and related information technology systems. Any disaster could therefore materially impair our ability to maintain timely accounting and reporting.

 

Risks Related to Ownership of our Common Stock

 

Our stock price may be volatile. Further, you may not be able to resell shares of our common stock at or above the price you paid.

 

The trading price of our common stock has been highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. These factors include:

 

·                  actual or anticipated variation in anticipated results of operations of us or our competitors;

 

·                  the financial projections we may provide to the public, any changes in these projections or our failure to meet these projections;

 

·                  announcements by us or our competitors of new products, new or terminated significant contracts, commercial relationships or capital commitments;

 

·                  additional dilution to our existing shareholders due to new financing activities;

 

·                  failure of securities analysts to maintain coverage of us, changes in financial estimates by any securities analysts who follow our company, or our failure to meet these estimates or the expectations of investors;

 

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·                  developments or disputes concerning our intellectual property or other proprietary rights;

 

·      commencement of, or our involvement in, litigation;

 

·                  announced or completed acquisitions of businesses or technologies by us or our competitors;

 

·                  changes in operating performance and stock market valuations of other technology companies generally, or those in our industry in particular;

 

·                  price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market, including as a result of trends in the economy as a whole, such as the continuing volatility in the financial markets;

 

·                  rumors and market speculation involving us or other companies in our industry;

 

·                  any major change in our management;

 

·                  general economic conditions and slow or negative growth of our markets; and

 

·                  other events or factors, including those resulting from war, incidents of terrorism or responses to these events.

 

In addition, the stock market in general, and the market for technology companies in particular, has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Broad market and industry factors may seriously affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. In addition, in the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market price of a particular company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against these companies. This litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.

 

If securities or industry analysts issue an adverse or misleading opinion regarding our stock or do not publish research or reports about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

 

The trading market for our common stock relies in part on the research and reports that equity research analysts publish about us and our business. We do not control these analysts or the content and opinions included in their reports. The price of our common stock could decline if one or more equity research analysts downgrade our common stock or if those analysts issue other unfavorable commentary or cease publishing reports about us or our business. If one or more equity research analysts cease coverage of our company, we could lose visibility in the market, which in turn could cause our stock price to decline. Further, securities analysts may elect not to provide research coverage of our common stock and such lack of research coverage may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

 

Future sales of shares by existing stockholders could cause our stock price to decline.

 

If our existing stockholders sell, or indicate an intention to sell, substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, the trading price of our common stock could decline. The lock-up agreements with directors and officers, and holders of substantially all of our outstanding equity securities expired in September of 2010. As of March 31, 2012, approximately 17.7 million shares of common stock were issued and outstanding. At that date, we had approximately 4.8 million shares of our common stock that will become eligible for sale in the public market to the extent exercised and permitted by the provisions of various stock plans and vesting agreements outstanding as of March 31, 2012. The weighted-average exercise price for options was $7.98 per share as of March 31, 2012. In addition, warrants to purchase 2.7 million shares of common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $10.76 per share had not been exercised and were still outstanding as of March 31, 2012. If these additional shares are sold, or if it is perceived that they will be sold, in the public market, the trading price of our common stock could decline.

 

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We have never paid dividends on our capital stock, and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

 

We have paid no cash dividends on any of our classes of capital stock to date, have contractual restrictions against paying cash dividends and currently intend to retain our future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be the sole source of gain for the foreseeable future.

 

Certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and of Delaware law may make it difficult for stockholders to change the composition of our board of directors and may discourage hostile takeover attempts that some of our stockholders may consider to be beneficial.

 

Certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and of Delaware law may have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in control if our board of directors determines that such changes in control are not in the best interests of us and our stockholders. The provisions in our certificate or incorporation and bylaws include, among other things, the following:

 

·                  the ability of our board of directors to issue shares of preferred stock and to determine the price and other terms, including preferences and voting rights, of those shares without stockholder approval;

 

·                  stockholder action can only be taken at a special or regular meeting and not by written consent;

 

·                  advance notice procedures for nominating candidates to our board of directors or presenting matters at stockholder meetings;

 

·                  allowing only our board of directors to fill vacancies on our board of directors; and

 

·                  supermajority voting requirements to amend our bylaws and certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation.

 

While these provisions have the effect of encouraging persons seeking to acquire control of our company to negotiate with our board of directors, they could enable the board of directors to hinder or frustrate a transaction that some, or a majority, of the stockholders might believe to be in their best interests and, in that case, may prevent or discourage attempts to remove and replace incumbent directors. We are also subject to Delaware laws that could have similar effects. One of these laws prohibits us from engaging in a business combination with a significant stockholder unless specific conditions are met.

 

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

 

(a)       Sales of Unregistered Securities

 

None.

 

(b)       Use of Proceeds from Initial Public Offering

 

On March 30, 2010, the registration statement (No. 333-163859) on Form S-1 for our IPO of our common stock was declared effective by the SEC, and the offering commenced. The managing underwriters were Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Baird, Cowen and Company, JMP Securities and ThinkEquity LLC.

 

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As the result of the IPO, we sold 4,233,017 shares of our common stock and received $57.1 million in proceeds, net of underwriting discount and net of commission of $4.4 million and offering related expenses of $2.0 million, on April 6, 2010, which was the closing date of the offering. As of March 31, 2012, we have used $27.4 million of the proceeds of our initial public offering to fund operations. We expect to use the remaining net proceeds from the IPO for general corporate purposes, including further expansion of our sales and marketing efforts, continued investments in research and development and for capital expenditures. There has been no material changes in the planned use of proceeds from our IPO as described in the final prospectus filed with SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b).

 

Our management will retain broad discretion in the allocation and use of the net proceeds of our IPO, and investors will be relying on the judgment of our management regarding the application of the net proceeds. Pending specific utilization of the net proceeds as described above, we have invested the net proceeds of the offering in money market funds and U.S. Treasury securities. The goal with respect to the investment of the net proceeds will be capital preservation and liquidity so that such funds are readily available to fund our operations.

 

(c)        Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

 

None.

 

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

 

None.

 

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

 

None.

 

Item 5. Other Information

 

On May 1, 2012, the Board of Directors of Meru Networks, Inc., approved Amendment No. 1 to the March 19, 2012, Offer Letter between Dr. Bami Bastani and Meru Networks. This amendment enables Dr. Bastani to complete certain activities for his prior employer by June 1, 2012 and allows him to receive reimbursement for relocation expenses for his move to California without the prior contingency of him first selling his house to receive such reimbursement. A copy of the Amendment No. 1 is filed herein as an exhibit to this filing.

 

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Item 6.    Exhibits

 

The exhibits listed on the accompanying index to exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference (as stated therein) as part of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

 

Exhibit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filing

 

Filed

No

 

Exhibit Title

 

Form

 

File No.

 

Exhibit

 

Date

 

Herewith

3.1

 

Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant, and amendments thereto.

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

3.1 (b)

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

3.2

 

Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of Registrant.

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

3.2 (b)

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.1

 

Form of Common Stock Certificate

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.1

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.2

 

Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement between the Registrant and certain investors

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.2

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.3

 

Form of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.3

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.4

 

Warrant to Purchase Series B Preferred Stock, as amended, issued to Venture Lending & Leasing IV, LLC. (exercisable for common stock)

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.4

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.5

 

Form of Class A Warrant to purchase Common Stock, as amended

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.5

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.6

 

Form of Class B Warrant to purchase Common Stock, as amended

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.6

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.7

 

Class A Warrant to purchase Common Stock, as amended, issued to Vision Opportunity Master Fund, Ltd.

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.7

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.8

 

Class A Warrant to purchase Common Stock, as amended, issued to Vision Opportunity Master Fund, Ltd

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.8

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

10.01

 

Transitional Employment Agreement

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

10.01

 

October 6, 2011

 

 

10.01

 

Patent Cross License Agreement

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

10.01

 

June 16, 2011

 

 

10.01

 

Meru Networks, Inc. 2012 Management Bonus Plan

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

10.01

 

March 2, 2012

 

 

10.01

 

Employment Offer Letter with CEO

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

10.01

 

March 22, 2012

 

 

10.02

 

Amendment No. 1 to March 19, 2012 Offer Letter with CEO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

10.02

 

Severance and Change of Control Agreement with CEO

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

10.02

 

March 22, 2012

 

 

10.02

 

Advisory Service Agreement between Ihab Abu-Hakima and Meru Networks, Inc.

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

10.02

 

March 2, 2012

 

 

10.1

 

Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and its officers and directors

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

10.1

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

10.2

 

Sublease Agreement, dated April 20, 2007 for 894 Ross Drive, Sunnyvale, California

 

S-1

 

333-163859

 

10.7

 

December 18, 2009

 

 

10.3

 

2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

 

S-8

 

333-165827

 

99.1

 

March 31, 2010

 

 

10.4

 

Forms of (a) Notice of Stock Option Grant, (b) Stock Option Agreement, (c) Notice of Cash Exercise of Stock Option, (d) Notice of Stock Unit Award, (e) Stock Unit Agreement, (f) Notice of Restricted Stock Award, and (g) Restricted Stock Agreement for 2010 Stock Incentive Plan

 

S-8

 

333-168631

 

99.1

 

August 6, 2010

 

 

4.06

 

Inducement Stock Option Plan and Agreement

 

S-8

 

331-180226

 

4.06

 

March 22, 2012

 

 

4.07

 

Service-based restricted stock unit plan and agreement

 

S-8

 

331-180226

 

4.07

 

March 22, 2012

 

 

4.08

 

Performance-based restricted stock unit plan and agreement

 

S-8

 

331-180226

 

4.08

 

March 22, 2012

 

 

99.01

 

Meru Networks, Inc. 2010 Stock Incentive Plan

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

99.01

 

June 10, 2011

 

 

10.5

 

Form of Severance and Change of Control Agreement

 

10-Q

 

001-34659

 

105

 

November 8, 2011

 

 

10.6

 

Atheros Technology License Agreement by and between Atheros Communications, Inc. and the Registrant effective August 7, 2009

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

10.8

 

January 25, 2010

 

 

10.7

 

Lease dated as of June 11, 2010 between Meru Networks, Inc. and Hines VAF No Cal Properties, L.P.

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

10.1

 

June 17, 2010

 

 

10.8

 

Term Loan and Security Agreement dated as of November 30, 2007 between Registrant and Silicon Valley Bank and the modifications related thereto

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

10.5

 

March 26, 2010

 

 

10.9

 

Sixteenth Loan Modification Agreement dated March 31, 2012 by and among Silicon Valley Bank and Meru Networks, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

31.1

 

Certification of the President and Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

31.2

 

Certification of the Chief Financial Officer and Secretary pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

32.1

 

Certificate of President and Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

32.2

 

Certificate of Chief Financial Officer and Secretary pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

101 INS

 

XBRL Instance Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

101.SCH

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

101.DEF

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

101.CAL

 

XBRL Taxonomy Calculation Linkbase Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

101.LAB

 

XBRL Taxonomy Label Linkbase Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

101.PRE

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

 

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Table of Contents

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

Dated: May 4, 2012

 

 

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.

 

 

 

By:

/s/  Dr. Bami Bastani

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Bami Bastani
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
(Principal Executive Officer)

 

 

 

MERU NETWORKS, INC.

 

 

 

 

By:

/s/  Brett T. White

 

 

 

 

 

Brett T. White

 

 

Chief Financial Officer

 

 

(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

 

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Table of Contents

 

Exhibit Index

 

Exhibit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filing

 

Filed

No

 

Exhibit Title

 

Form

 

File No.

 

Exhibit

 

Date

 

Herewith

3.1

 

Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Registrant, and amendments thereto.

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

3.1 (b)

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

3.2

 

Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of Registrant.

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

3.2 (b)

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.1

 

Form of Common Stock Certificate

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.1

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.2

 

Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement between the Registrant and certain investors

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.2

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.3

 

Form of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.3

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.4

 

Warrant to Purchase Series B Preferred Stock, as amended, issued to Venture Lending & Leasing IV, LLC. (exercisable for common stock)

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.4

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.5

 

Form of Class A Warrant to purchase Common Stock, as amended

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.5

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.6

 

Form of Class B Warrant to purchase Common Stock, as amended

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.6

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.7

 

Class A Warrant to purchase Common Stock, as amended, issued to Vision Opportunity Master Fund, Ltd.

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.7

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

4.8

 

Class A Warrant to purchase Common Stock, as amended, issued to Vision Opportunity Master Fund, Ltd

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

4.8

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

10.01

 

Transitional Employment Agreement

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

10.01

 

October 6, 2011

 

 

10.01

 

Patent Cross License Agreement

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

10.01

 

June 16, 2011

 

 

10.01

 

Meru Networks, Inc. 2012 Management Bonus Plan

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

10.01

 

March 2, 2012

 

 

10.01

 

Employment Offer Letter with CEO

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

10.01

 

March 22, 2012

 

 

10.02

 

Amendment No. 1 to March 19, 2012 Offer Letter with CEO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

10.02

 

Severance and Change of Control Agreement with CEO

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

10.02

 

March 22, 2012

 

 

10.02

 

Advisory Service Agreement between Ihab Abu-Hakima and Meru Networks, Inc.

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

10.02

 

March 2, 2012

 

 

10.1

 

Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and its officers and directors

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

10.1

 

March 12, 2010

 

 

10.2

 

Sublease Agreement, dated April 20, 2007 for 894 Ross Drive, Sunnyvale, California

 

S-1

 

333-163859

 

10.7

 

December 18, 2009

 

 

10.3

 

2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

 

S-8

 

333-165827

 

99.1

 

March 31, 2010

 

 

10.4

 

Forms of (a) Notice of Stock Option Grant, (b) Stock Option Agreement, (c) Notice of Cash Exercise of Stock Option, (d) Notice of Stock Unit Award, (e) Stock Unit Agreement, (f) Notice of Restricted Stock Award, and (g) Restricted Stock Agreement for 2010 Stock Incentive Plan

 

S-8

 

333-168631

 

99.1

 

August 6, 2010

 

 

4.06

 

Inducement Stock Option Plan and Agreement

 

S-8

 

331-180226

 

4.06

 

March 22, 2012

 

 

4.07

 

Service-based restricted stock unit plan and agreement

 

S-8

 

331-180226

 

4.07

 

March 22, 2012

 

 

4.08

 

Performance-based restricted stock unit plan and agreement

 

S-8

 

331-180226

 

4.08

 

March 22, 2012

 

 

99.01

 

Meru Networks, Inc. 2010 Stock Incentive Plan

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

99.01

 

June 10, 2011

 

 

10.5

 

Form of Severance and Change of Control Agreement

 

10-Q

 

001-34659

 

105

 

November 8, 2011

 

 

10.6

 

Atheros Technology License Agreement by and between Atheros Communications, Inc. and the Registrant effective August 7, 2009

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

10.8

 

January 25, 2010

 

 

10.7

 

Lease dated as of June 11, 2010 between Meru Networks, Inc. and Hines VAF No Cal Properties, L.P.

 

8-K

 

001-34659

 

10.1

 

June 17, 2010

 

 

10.8

 

Term Loan and Security Agreement dated as of November 30, 2007 between Registrant and Silicon Valley Bank and the modifications related thereto

 

S-1/A

 

333-163859

 

10.5

 

March 26, 2010

 

 

10.9

 

Sixteenth Loan Modification Agreement dated March 31, 2012 by and among Silicon Valley Bank and Meru Networks, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

31.1

 

Certification of the President and Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

31.2

 

Certification of the Chief Financial Officer and Secretary pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

32.1

 

Certificate of President and Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

32.2

 

Certificate of Chief Financial Officer and Secretary pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

101 INS

 

XBRL Instance Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

101.SCH

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

101.DEF

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

101.CAL

 

XBRL Taxonomy Calculation Linkbase Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

101.LAB

 

XBRL Taxonomy Label Linkbase Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

101.PRE

 

XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

x

 

65