Box's new funding boosts its upcoming IPO valuation
Raising $150 million in the run-up to its delayed IPO, the cloud storage service amends its SEC filing to reflect a jump in revenue.
A new injection of investment funding has upped Box's upcoming initial public offering valuation from $2 billion to $2.4 billion.
The cloud storage and enterprise collaboration company announced Monday that it raised $150 million from TPG Growth and Coatue Management. This investment comes roughly two months after Box filed for an IPO but before it's actually gone public.
"TPG has a long history in investing in cutting-edge technology companies and Box is no exception," TPG's Bryan Taylor said in a statement. "Box has established a strong leadership position in the transition to the cloud, and we are confident that the company can continue to scale."
Box publicly filed for an IPO in March but reportedly put off its plans for a few months to wait for a stronger market. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company plans to go public in the fall.
In its IPO filing, Box reported $124.2 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2014, a 111 percent increase from the previous year. However, the company also showed a loss of $169 million in one year, which it incurred from operating expenses of $257 million, or $21 million a month, that left it with roughly $109 million in the bank going into fiscal 2014. Between January 2013 and January 2014, Box's sales and marketing expenses grew up from $99.1 million to $171 million.
With the company's new investment from TPG Growth and Coatue Management, Box has amended its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission to show its first-quarter financials. While now spending less on sales and marketing, the company's losses jumped to $38 million for the quarter, which is up from $34 million in the first quarter of 2013. However, Box also showed that revenue shot up 94 percent to $45 million, compared with $23 million from the same period last year.
Box touts more than 27 million individual users, which include 99 percent of Fortune 500 companies. Its customers include Chevron, Safeway, and General Electric.