Guidewire Software seeks $115M IPO, debuts tomorrow

Insurance software company Guidewire will begin trading publicly on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) tomorrow. It has raised $115 million in the initial public offering by selling 8.85 million shares at $13 apiece. That’s well above the 7.5 million shares at $10 to $12 that the company had planned.

Guidewire provides software targeted at insurance companies that provides property, workers’ compensation and casualty insurance to its customers. Its software product includes a web-based claims system, an enterprise application for transactions and other administrative tasks.

Founded in 2001, the San Mateo, California-based company brought in $190M in revenue in the past year (ending Oct. 31). The company’s net profits were $38.5 million in the twelve months ended October 31, 2011, while sales increased 51 percent to $52.4 million in the most recent quarter.

According to Guidewire, about 90 percent of the more than 7,000 insurance companies are still using outdated technology systems originally developed over 30 years ago, meaning there are still plenty of potential clients available. The company currently has more than 100 customers, including major insurance company clients, including Nationwide, CNA and American Family Insurance.

Guidewire, which filed its IPO paperwork in September, will use GWRE for its stock ticker. Two of the company’s biggest investors — U.S. Venture Partners and Bay Partners — have shown interest in purchasing up to 400,000 shares of common stock at the IPO price, according to a Wall Street Journal report.