"I see it that they've either 1) exhausted venture money, aren't an acquisition target, and see the public offering as funding of last resort because they're no

"I see it that they've either 1) exhausted venture money, aren't an acquisition target, and see the public offering as funding of last resort because they're nowhere close to being profitable or 2) they see this as very close to a market top and are rushing to take the company public before the music stops. I don't like either very much." They (Box) just raised ($100MM, Dec/13) a month or two before this was filed. The market, however, is very ripe[1] and the IPO marketers are likely advising them to take it public. The Last round is basically a mezz round ($2B valuation) and if they flip this thing for 1.5x to 2.0x in 6 months those guys are going to be happy. The cash burn on the P&L is $14/month and $350MM would last 24 months, enough to inflect if its a real biz. Closer to inflection, a Secondary raise will generate liquidity for the remaining insiders. Given the uncertainty with the FED's propping up of QE, its not a bad idea if you are the #N player to not wait (risk of backwash/turbulence if the others take all investor appetite), given that its a two-stage exit for most IPOs these days. [1] http://www.cnbc.com/id/101425809 http://www.cnbc.com/id/101425809