Cloud storage provider Dropbox has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of shares. The filing states maximum proceeds of USD 500 million from the IPO, although the exact details of the number and price of shares to be sold still need to be set.
Dropbox took advantage of the 'emerging growth company' status to limit the amount of information it makes public prior to listing. It did report revenues of USD 1.1 billion for 2017, up from USD 845 million in 2016 and USD 604 million in 2015. Its net loss nearly halved in 2017, to USD 112 million from USD 210 million the previous year.
The company said it generated positive free cash flow of USD 305 million last year, and finished 2017 with 11 million paying customers. Total registered users numbered more than 500 million, of which 100 million were signed up in the past year. Dropbox's business model is to grow registrations and gradually convert them to paying customers for its premium business services.
The IPO is designed largely to create a public market for its stock, giving shareholders and employees a way to sell shares and the company a new way to raise financing. Dropbox will be selling Class A shares in the offering, which carry one vote each. It also has Class B shares with 10 votes each, which will allow its founder to retain a blocking stake in the company after the IPO. Founder and CEO Andrew Houston already holds 24.4 percent of the voting rights prior to the offering, while Sequoia Capital also holds 24.8 percent.
