Cloudera is preparing to go public

Cloudera has been very successful in distributing the open-source big data software known as Hadoop, so successful that the company is apparently preparing to go public later this year. The company was valued at $4.1 billion last year after Intel abandoned its own Hadoop distribution and decided to back Cloudera with a $900 million round of funding.

Cloudera is taking preliminary steps for an initial public offering (IPO) in the coming months, VentureBeat has learned. The company, which sells a distribution of the Hadoop open-source big data software, will file to go public in May, one source familiar with the matter told VentureBeat. Another source had heard about a Q2-Q3 timeframe. It would follow competitor Hortonworks’ IPO in December, which raised $115 million. Hortonworks’ stock rose 65 percent in its first day, closing at $26.38, giving the company a $1.1 billion valuation. (Hortonworks stock [$HDP] is now around $22.44.) What’s more, Box picked up a pop for its IPO, as did New Relic. These events could encourage Cloudera execs to go forward with its IPO.