Box Raises $150m Before IPO Launch Later This Year

Box has managed to raise an additional $150 million [£87.5 million] in new financing as the market continues to wait for it to launch its much-anticipated initial public offering [IPO] later this year.

Private-equity firm TPG and hedge fund Coatue Management are behind the new funding, which was confirmed in a regulatory filing, and it brings Box’s value up to around $2.4 billion [£1.4 billion] according to sources close to the matter quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

It’s a widely held belief that the money allows Box to put off its IPO for a while longer and, in this regard, it isn’t expected to go public until at least Labour Day [1 September], according to one person familiar with the matter.

For its investment, TPG Growth gets a seat on Box’s board and the agreement stipulates that Box has to guarantee it will sell shares in its IPO at a higher valuation than the previous funding round.

If this doesn’t happen Box has already agreed that it will have to hand over more shares to TPG, stated one person familiar with the deal between Box and TPG, in what is known in the markets as a ratchet.

Morgan Stanley advised Box on the latest round of investment and it tips the total outside investment past $500 million [£292 million] after the likes of Salesforce.com and a swath of venture capital companies invested in the past.

Box first filed regulatory papers for its IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission back in January of this year and it was able to do so confidentially under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups [JOBS] Act. This allows firms making less than $1 billion [£580 million] in annual revenue to file papers without revealing any details until eventually going public.