Box, the cloud software company that has delayed for months its widely anticipated IPO, has raised $150 million in funding from hedge fund Coatue Management and private equity firm TPG. Los Altos-based Box on Monday updated its IPO filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission to show the new investment, led by Coatue, which now owns 3.3 percent of the company. The investment allows Box, which sells software to companies to store and manage files in the cloud, to further delay its public market debut, an event the startup has been dragging out since first filing its paperwork in March. The market tumble in April led several tech startups including Box to delay IPO plans, but some experts also blame Box’s unsteady financials, including a $38 million loss from February to April this year. This new cash infusion may help Box buy the time it needs for a successful IPO, according to some experts.
Box Inc. bought itself some breathing room as it waits for a more suitable time to hold an initial public offering. The online-storage startup raised $150 million in funding from private-equity firm TPG and hedge fund Coatue Management, the company said on Monday in a regulatory filing that also provided its latest quarterly results. The new financing—rare for a company that already has filed for an IPO—values Box at about $2.4 billion, people familiar with the matter said. The extra cash extends the amount of time Los Altos, Calif.-based Box can put off its plans for an IPO. The company publicly filed for an IPO in March, but delayed those plans to wait out a period of weakening demand for U.S. technology stocks. Companies like Box that sell online, or cloud, software to businesses were punished because of their high-cost business models. Box expects to go public by the end of this year but not until after Labor Day, one of the people said. The IPO market tends to pick up between then and Thanksgiving Day. While the new funding values Box only slightly higher than last December, when it took funds at a valuation of $2 billion, it raises the expectations for the value of its IPO shares. TPG’s investment comes from its growth-equity fund, TPG Growth, which will receive a seat on Box’s board, the people said. Morgan Stanley advised Box on the financing. TPG Growth has recently invested in other high-growth, late-stage tech startups such as home-rental site Airbnb Inc. and taxi-hailing app Uber Technologies Inc. The firm often requires companies to guarantee they will sell shares in an IPO at a higher valuation than the last funding round or else forfeit additional shares.
