The parent of supply chain software provider Blue Yonder filed a confidential draft registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) Thursday (April 8), the company announced in a press release.
“The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined,” the release stated. “The initial public offering is expected to take place after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions.”
The news comes at a time of heightened investor and commercial interest in supply chain management. The pandemic has caused major disruptions in the supply of goods from sources that companies have long relied on, especially those based in Asia. The prolonged blocking of the Suez Canal by a stuck ship created its own cascade of headaches for manufacturers and merchants around the world.
Before the developments of the past 12 months, Gartner, the research shop, last year ranked Blue Yonder third globally for 2019 revenue, falling behind only SAP SE and Oracle, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
According to WSJ, Chicago-based project44, which tracks goods in transit, is considering going public between 18 and 24 months from now, and earlier this year, supply chain software company E2open used a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to go public.
Blue Yonder is based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and has 10 other U.S. office, according to its website, in addition to four in Central America, 13 in Europe, one in the Middle East, one in Africa, eight in Asia, and two in Australia.
Blue Yonder lists customers including Penske Logistics; Albertsons; L.L. Bean; Heineken; and PetSmart.
Panasonic bought a 20 percent stake in Blue Yonder in 2020, and reports earlier this year speculated — apparently erroneously — that the Japanese electronics giant was about to buy the rest of the company.
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