Box could finally go public this quarter

Update January 9: The day after this story appeared, Box filed documents indicating it is preparing to go public at a valuation around $1.5 billion.

Cloud file-sharing company Box is apparently finally good and ready for its initial public offering.

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Box first filed to go public in March 2014 but ended up holding off and later reportedly raised a $150 million funding round.

But Box has been gradually improving its finances. Now multiple sources are telling VentureBeat they expect a Box IPO within three months.

“Based on our sources, we are targeting 1Q15,” Kathleen Smith, a principal at IPO exchange-traded funds manager Renaissance Capital, told VentureBeat in an email.

And it could be coming up very soon; Box is looking to go public in the next six weeks, a source familiar with the matter told VentureBeat.

The source pointed to successful tech IPOs like Hortonworks and New Relic in December and generally strong financial markets as of late as good signs for a Box IPO.

What’s more, going public before Dropbox could be a good motivation, Smith wrote in her email.

A spokeswoman for Los Altos, Calif.-based Box provided VentureBeat with the following statement:

Our plan continues to be to go public when it makes the most sense for Box and the market. As always, investing in our customers, technology, and future growth remains our top priority.

Several other tech companies are in a position to go public later this year.

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