Dropbox in talks with banks, could file an IPO in 2013

The rumour mills are spinning again in Silicon Valley and this time all eyes are on popular file storage service Dropbox.

According to people close to the matter, the service intends on going public this year, reports Quartz.

The report states that Dropbox is already in talks with some banks in preparation for an IPO to gain market perceptions and reckons the service could likely be valued at about US$4-billion.

Considered one of the hotest tech startups in Silicon Valley, Dropbox has managed to raise some respectable cash since launching in 2008. It commands a total venture capital funding of US$257.2-million from several investors such as Y Combinator, Sequoia Capital and Accel Partners. Dropbox’s annual revenue for 2011 was expected to be somewhere around US$240-million.

The San Francisco-based startup made its name catering to consumers’ file storage needs and has managed to gather more than 100-million users in that market. Recently the company unveiled its enterprise solution for corporate customers with its expansion into the IT administration space.

The new Dropbox software gives IT administrators some serious control with the ability to monitor which users have viewed a file and when it was viewed. The software also gives the administrator the power to instantly grant or withhold file permissions.

If the rumours are true and Dropbox does go public, it will be following in the footsteps of a number of tech companies that have done so in recent years. Tech IPOs of late such as those of Facebook, Groupon, LinkedIn and Zynga have been largely tumultuous to say the least.

Though the move to branch out to corporate consumers could mean that Dropbox is learning from IPOs past and solidifying its business before going public.

The company is yet to make a statement regarding the rumours.