Phone-equipment maker Avaya may file for IPO

Avaya Inc., the phone-equipment maker owned by private equity firms Silver Lake and TPG Capital, may file for an initial public offering of stock that would seek to raise about $1 billion, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

The company may file as early as this week, said the person, who declined to be identified because the plans weren’t public. The Basking Ridge, N.J., company, spun off from Lucent Technologies Inc. in 2000, was taken private in 2007 for $8.2 billion.

Avaya, which sells phones and related equipment to corporate clients, boosted sales 22% in the fiscal year that ended in September, according to regulatory filings. The company bought Nortel Networks Corp.’s enterprise-telecommunications unit for $915 million in 2009, gaining more corporate phone equipment.

More than 15 technology companies have filed for an IPO this year, an increase of 45% from last year. LinkedIn Corp., the largest professional-networking site, had a valuation as high as $11.6 billion in its first day of trading in May, and online coupon site Groupon Inc. filed to raise $750 million last week.