Investors Impatient After Box Delays IPO

Box has put the stoppers on its initial public offering [IPO] plans until 2015 in order to avoid the unfavourable conditions that are currently plaguing the stock market following Alibaba’s record breaking launch last month.

The cloud storage provider originally filed for an IPO back in March and people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg the next logical slot for the IPO would be Box’s Q4 that ends in January 2015.

“Our plan continues to go public when it makes the most sense for Box and the market,” said Ashley Mayer, a spokeswoman for Box. “As always, investing in our customers, technology and future growth remains our top priority.”

It was thought that Box would be launching an IPO at some point after Labor Day in the US on 1 September, which has now been and gone, and after that it was reportedly waiting for Alibaba’s now record breaking IPO to launch on 18 September.

The same people said that the ensuing downturn that occurred right after Alibaba’s IPO is a major reason behind the delay and it has seen Standard & Poor’s 500 Index drop for three days on the trot, resulting in a total decline of three per cent since its record close on 18 September.

Box’s initial IPO filing in March showed that it wanted to raise some $250 million [£154 million] from an undisclosed number of shares and no price was put on the individual stakes in the firm. At the same time it revealed that marketing costs had spiralled to 38 per cent more than revenue and, although it reined them in later in the year, some investors remain cautious over the company.

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