Evernote has won $85 million in its latest round of financing. While some investors expected an Evernote IPO, CEO Phil Libin reported that Evernote’s strategy calls for an extended timeline.
“As we’ve talked about in the past, there is no exit strategy at Evernote. Our goal is to build a permanently meaningful and enduring company; a hundred year startup. In order to accomplish this, we have to separate liquidity from exit,” said Libin in his blog. “This latest round is another step on this journey. By giving early shareholders the opportunity to sell some of their holdings, we reduce the pressure to exit while at the same time forging relationships with important new long-term investors who can help shepherd the company to, through, and beyond an eventual IPO.”
The $85 million raised by the popular note-taking, task-management app suite was financed in large part by AGC Equity Partners/m8 Capital and Valiant Capital Partners. Around 75 percent of the current investment is secondary, which means the latest players have purchased Evernote stock from previous capital groups.
While anxious public investors will have to wait a little longer to support one of the most successful app companies this side of the recession, the decision by Evernote to withhold its IPO is likely to benefit the firm in the long run. Mobile solution and app companies have often proven volatile and untrustworthy in the fast-paced tech market. With acquisition, mergers, and fallouts so common in the industry, investors are wary of any long-term commitments to such companies. Moving investment along more slowly through private channels until stability is a sure thing can help assuage fears when it is finally time for the Evernote IPO.
Meanwhile, Evernote also has time to expand on its current array of products, which include communication and note-taking apps for workers, artists, cooks, kids and more. Its premium labels, offering solutions for businesses, schools and individuals, are more profit-oriented and are likely to gain extra attention in the coming months. Indeed, Evernote’s strategy could be very similar to that of Twitter, which analysts believe is focusing on revenue-building activities through 2013 to prepare for an early 2014 public offering.
So far Evernote has held several rounds of financing, previously earning $10, $20, $50, and $70 million in its various rounds. As long as private investors are willing to provide more capital for the company, it will keep earning public interest.
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