Box Files for IPO

Monday’s filing showed that Box will list under the stock ticker BOX on the New York Stock Exchange. Two classes of shares will exist after this offering. The classes are identical in terms of right to dividends and other matters, but each Class A share will have one vote and each Class B share will have ten votes.

Box says that it provides a cloud-based, mobile-optimized Enterprise Content Collaboration platform “that enables organizations of all sizes to easily and securely manage their content and collaborate internally and externally.” The Box platform combines easy-to-use functionality with the security and administrative controls required by IT departments. Another issue about Box is that its platform is designed to be worked on regardless of file format, application environment, operating system, device or location.

The company claims that its paying business customers are over 40% of Fortune 500 companies and 20% of Global 2000 companies. It also claims some 25 million registered users.

The lead underwriters are Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and JPMorgan. Other underwriters mentioned in the prospectus were BMO Capital Markets, Canaccord Genuity, Pacific Crest Securities, Raymond James, and Wells Fargo Securities.

Box said that has a history of cumulative losses, and that it does not expect to be profitable for the foreseeable future. The company gave the following financial data:

“We have experienced significant growth since our incorporation in 2005. For the 12 months ended December 31, 2011, January 31, 2013 and 2014, our revenue was $21.1 million, $58.8 million and $124.2 million, respectively, representing year-over-year growth of 179% and 111%. We have invested and continue to invest heavily in our business to capitalize on our large market opportunity. As a result, we incurred net losses of $50.3 million, $112.6 million and $168.6 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2011, January 31, 2013 and 2014, respectively.”