Dec 12 (IFR) - Social networking. Cloud computing. Software as a service.

With the right buzzwords littered throughout its IPO pitch, there was never much doubt that Jive Software's <jive.o> IPO would go well, even in dispiriting markets.

Lead bookrunners Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs priced 13.44m Jive shares at US$12, 20% above the top end of the US$8-$10 pricing range.

The primary share component was also upsized to 10.07m share from 8.33m, while the secondary component of 3.37m shares was the same as first pitched.

The upsize meant Jive raised more than US$161m, propelling its market value to more than US$700m before it begins trading on Nasdaq in the morning.

Jive is unprofitable but it boasts billings growth of around 50% in the year to date and generates steady revenue from subscriptions, not advertising, paid by some big name clients.

Jive's social business software platform boasts 65 enterprise customers, including Hewlett-Packard, SAP, T-Mobile and UBS.

Recent M&A in the software-as-a-service sector, including acquisitions by SAP, IBM and Oracle, proved very fortuitous, clearly underpinning valuations.

Jive intends to use US$20m of the proceeds to pay down outstanding loans.

Jive looks like another winner for California VC firm Sequoia Capital, which is not selling any stock into the offer but will have its stake diluted from 34.7% to 29.2%.

(Anthony Hughes is an IFR reporter in New York)