US-based flash storage technology producer Pure Storage, backed by electronics conglomerate Samsung, will put up 25 million shares priced at $16 to $18 and will raise up to $450m.
The offering would value Pure Storage at more than $3.3bn, if it floats at the upper end of the range. The company was valued at $3bn in April 2014, when it secured $225m in series F funding.
Established in 2009, Pure Storage develops flash drives aimed at data centres. The technology enables faster reading and writing of data than traditional disk drives, and flash storage is already common in smartphones and tablets.
Pure Storage has obtained approximately $470m in funding. Samsung’s corporate venturing unit Samsung Ventures contributed to a $30m series C round closed in 2011, but is not listed as a major shareholder in the IPO filing.
Sutter Hill Ventures holds a 27.4% stake, Greylock Partners holds 17.3% and Redpoint Ventures holds 5.7%. All three are expected to retain the same percentage following the offering, though their voting power will be reduced to 27%, 17% and 5.6%, respectively.
Pure Storage has also been backed by Wellington Management Company, T Rowe Associates, Tiger Global Management, Index Ventures and In-Q-Tel, the investment arm of US intelligence service CIA.
The company has not yet decided on a use of proceeds, declaring only that it will use the cash for general corporate purposes and that it may consider acquisitions.
The underwriters for the offering are Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Barclays, Allen & Company, Merrill Lynch, Pacific Crest Securities, Stifel, Raymond James and Evercore.