Cloud Enterprise Software Maker Apptio Readies IPO

Cloud enterprise software maker Apptio has positioned itself for an initial public offering at a valuation of more than $1 billion and has hired bankers Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase and Bank of America to oversee the process, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The 600-person, Bellevue, WA-based SaaS developer, which makes cloud-based Technology Business Management (TBM) software for CIOs, is backed by $136 million in venture funding from Janus Capital, The Hillman Company, Andresssen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, Madrona Ventures, Shasta Ventures and T. Rowe Price, according to Crunchbase. The company last secured $45 million of Series E funding in May, 2013.

Five years ago, networking giant Cisco (CSCO) invested some $3.5 million in Apptio’s Series C financing round and agreed to resell the developer’s software through its channel partners.

Apptio is said to have been readying itself for an IPO since 2013, appointing new board members and last month naming co-founder Kurt Shintaffer as chief financial officer (CFO). Apptio also recently tapped former Concur executive Susanna Morgan as its new Finance and Investor Relations vice president.

Two years ago, co-founder and chief executive Sunny Gupta told GeekWire that while he didn’t have any specific plans for an IPO, he intended to “consider every option that sets us up for growth and longevity.”

Based on the Journal’s report, Apptio’s IPO plans clearly have solidified. Earlier this year, Gupta hinted as much when he told GeekWire “We’ve been around for 7-plus years… We have always acted and run ourselves like a Silicon Valley company, but we are based in Seattle.”

At this point, Gupta has declined to comment on the company’s IPO intentions.

Apptio’s IPO comes during a mixed bag for cloud-based software developers, with the market estimated at some $177 billion but firms such as Apigee and Mindbody trading down since their public offerings, as the Journal reported.