Bluestone Raises $25m and Heads for IPO.

By Nick Patience

Bluestone Software Inc has raised $25m in what will be its third and final round of private funding before its expected filing for an initial public offering either late in this quarter or early next. In addition, the company will announce today that Andrew 'Flip' Filipowski, the former CEO of Platinum Technology Inc has joined Bluestone's board to add some experience of working with a fast-growing software company.

The new round was opened on May 10 and all the money was in the bank by the afternoon of May 25, according to president and CEO Kevin Kilroy. He could not say that the company is definitely readying its IPO filing but we have heard as much before and it did not take a great deal of reading between the lines to work it out. Kilroy says the offer was oversubscribed and the company had to pick what it considered to be the biggest names and turn down the others. The money will be used to expand sales and marketing as well as for development. The Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based company is demonstrating its recently announced version 6 of its Sapphire/Web Java application server at this week's JavaOne expo in San Francisco. This round brings the total raised to $42m in just over two years.

Existing investors GE Capital Corp, Patricof and Co and Adams Capital and joined this time by Van Wagoner Capital Management Inc; Seligman's Communications & Information Fund; Williams, Jones and Associates; OppenheimerFunds Inc; Chelsey Capital Management; CSK Venture Capital; Essex Investment Management Co; FGII Ventures; Odyssey Capital; Riggs Capital Partners; Willow and Co; St George Capital; Tyson Street Partners; New Venturetec; Westfield Capital Management; and Winfield Capital Corporation.