Morning Report: Cloudera’s IPO To Test Valuation Gap Between Public And Private Markets

Morning Report: Cloudera’s impending IPO will test the gap between public and private valuations for tech companies, sending an important signal to a host of yet-private technology startups considering an IPO.

2017’s growing IPO cohort will pick up a new prospective member today, provided Cloudera files its S-1 document as Axios reports it likely will. The news that Cloudera could file today follows Bloomberg’s prior reporting that the company was selecting bankers for its debut.

That another unicorn is going public is notable. To see more billion-dollar-plus companies manage material liquidity events bodes well for investors and entrepreneurs alike. However, with the Cloudera offering, there is a fun wrinkle to discuss.

Here’s Dan Primack:

A recent Bloomberg report suggested that the company will seek a valuation of around $4.1 billion (same as its most recent private round), although such information would not be available in the initial S-1 filing. Morgan Stanley is expected to be lead underwriter, with J.P. Morgan and BoA Merrill Lynch also participating.

The $4.1 billion number caught my eye, so I looked up the round. As it turns out, Cloudera’s last private round was its Series F, led by Intel Capital in 2014, valuing the company at a $3.36 billion pre-money valuation. After the round’s $740 million infusion, Cloudera was worth, you guessed it, $4.1 billion.

By aiming directly at its last private valuation, Cloudera may price on either side of it in a very open way, bending to public sentiment.

This means that Cloudera’s final pricing results will illustrate the difference between the heady days of 2014 and the still-pretty-damn-good days of early 2017. That’s to say that if Cloudera manages merely a flat IPO, it will have burned off at least most of the excesses of the current tech cycle on the private side. The delta in revenue and, presumably, operating margin improvement the company racked up in the intervening three-year period is a good reminder of how far things can get sticky between public and private wickets of corporate valuation.

Now, it’s Friday. Have something cool to drink and put on something soothing.

Today in the Crunchbase Daily:

Cloudera poised to publicly file for IPO

• Enterprise software unicorn Cloudera is planning to publicly file its IPO prospectus as early as today, Axios reports. The Silicon Valley company is reportedly likely to seek a valuation close to $4 billion, which is about the same as its last private funding round.

Blue Apron preps for public offering

• Meal kit company Blue Apron has hired investment bankers to carry out an IPO later this year, according to a Reuters report citing unnamed sources. The five-year-old, New York-based company has raised nearly $200 million in private financing to date at a reported peak valuation around $2 billion.

Tango Therapeutics launches with $55M to fight cancer

• Biotech VC Third Rock Ventures announced that it investing $55 million in Series A funding to launch a new startup, Tango Therapeutics, which will develop cancer treatments based on genetic analysis of patients’ tumors.

VCs pour funds into booze businesses

• Business offering innovative approaches to creating, selecting and procuring alcoholic beverages are attracting a surprisingly healthy amount of investment. At least two dozen startups with liquor-related business models raised $1 million or more since the beginning of last year, together bringing in more than $280 million, according to a Crunchbase News analysis. The biggest rounds went to liquor delivery services, developers of booze-related gadgetry, and apps for finding the perfect wine.

From a Crunchbase friend: Support Diversity with ToigoThe National Venture Capital Association invites entrepreneurs, VCs and business leaders to attend and meet Toigo Fellows on April 8th in Los Angeles.

• The National Venture Capital Association invites entrepreneurs, VCs and business leaders to attend and meet Toigo Fellows on April 8th in Los Angeles.