Splunk prepares for $125m initial public offering

The company filed papers with the Securities and Exchanges Committee (SEC) yesterday, explaining that the cash would be used to acquire or invest in businesses and technologies that complement its own data analytics offerings.

Splunk – led by chairman and CEO Godfrey Sullivan (pictured) – said that the number of shares that will be offered, or the price they would be sold at, has not yet been decided. According to its filings, the San Francisco-based firm posted revenue for the nine-month period ending October 31 totalling $77.8m, but net loss for the period widened from $2m to $9.7m.

Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse Securities, JP Morgan Securities and BofA Merrill Lynch will act as joint book-running managers with UBS Securities, Pacific Crest Securities and Cowen and Company acting as co-managers.

Splunk’s software is designed to analyse machine data – information generated by websites, applications, servers, networks and mobile devices, including customer clickstreams and transaction data.