Dropbox: Loved by Users, a Dead End for Shareholders
Dropbox is an obvious PE Target?
Dropbox's slowing growth and status as a feature, not a product, make it a prime candidate for private equity acquisition. With nearly $1 billion in free cash flow and a cheap valuation, a firm like Silver Lake could acquire it, load it with debt, cut costs, and harvest cash. The story also serves as a lesson: when Steve Jobs offers to buy you, take the deal.
Again, Steve Jobs was right: Dropbox was indeed a feature, not a Product, and clearly the wave of enterprise companies that were features that IPOed and struggled is many.