Technology Firms Continue to Flood the Markets

​Cloud-based technologies companies DocuSign and Smartsheet were among notable IPO filings this past week. Within the biotechnology sphere, genetic drug manufacturer Homology Medicines was able to raise $144 million during its initial public offering. Additionally, YETI Coolers canceled its pending initial public offering due to current market conditions. 

• Last Wednesday, DocuSign filed to go public on the NASDAQ under the ticker DOCU. The San Francisco-based electronic signature company expects a $400 million dollar offering amount. DocuSign's business focuses on the replacement of printing, faxing, scanning, and overnight shipping documents with easy, safe, and secure transaction management facilitation of contracts and related signature-needed documents. Since its 2003 founding, DocuSign has been backed by a large amount of venture capital (VC) funding, such as its 2015 Series F $300 million funding, which was led by Brookside Capital and Bain Capital Ventures. According to Pitchbook, the company's pre-Series F (2015) money valuation was roughly $2.77 billion, making DocuSign yet another tech unicorn.

• Last Monday, Smartsheet.com filed to go public on the NYSE under the ticker SMAR. The Bellevue, WA-based SaaS firm expects a $100 million dollar offering amount. The software-as-a-service firm produces the enterprise application, known as Smartsheet, which promotes communication, collaboration, and work management. According to Crunchbase, Smartsheet has raised over $100 million in venture capital funding since 2010. According to TechCrunch, the enterprise software firm was recently valued at more than $800 million dollars.

• Last Wednesday, Homology Medicines (NASDAQ: FIXX) raised $144 million during its IPO when shares began selling at $16 per share. According to PitchBook, the Bedford, MA-based preclinical biotechnology firm reached a total value of $577 million post-IPO. The public offering profits are expected to advance the firm's clinical trials for rare genetic disorder gene therapy treatments.

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• Last Monday, YETI Holdings withdrew its initial public offering, which had been filed back in July, citing current market conditions. The Austin-based manufacturer produces "built-for-the-wild" coolers and vacuum-insulated mugs, which have become quite popular within the luxury outdoors market and general market since the firm's founding in 2006. In 2012, the company was acquired via LBO by private equity firm Cortec Group and private debt lender Fifth Street Asset Management for $67 million dollars. According to the Wall Street Journal, YETI and its majority equity owner, Cortec Group, may be considering an equity sale to a select investor group or the issuance of debt in order to finance dividend payments to Cortec and Fifth Street. According to PitchBook, YETI's post-IPO valuation was determined to be $5 billion dollars.