A Few Unicorn Stirrings Into 2016’s End

Unicorns had some fluttering of wings into the end of 2016, more a soft rustling than might be termed full flight.

What’s the one thing unicorn watchers watch for the most? IPOs, of course. And there was indeed an IPO filing this past week. AppDynamics, an IT company focused on applications management, filed for an offering that could be worth as much as $100 million, eyeing a listing on the NASDAQ either this month or next, according to the financial trade press. The firm had raised roughly $300 million over the past eight years. The IPO had been rumored for months. Perhaps the decision to pull the trigger may speak, or whisper, volumes about the state of the markets as viewed by executives looking to bring their firms public.

Not so fast, though. Bloomberg reported last week that Blue Apron, the meal delivery firm, is delaying IPO plans until later in the year, with an aim of garnering a $3 billion valuation when it ultimately does take the public leap.

Separately, in India, eCommerce is getting a bit of a revamp, as far as Amazon India and Flipkart are concerned. Those two retailing giants are overhauling at least part of their fashion categories, with private-label launches. Amazon, for its part, is inking deals with firms such as Swarovski and Aeropostale.

In India, mobile payments company Paytm has gotten formal approval from the country’s Reserve Bank to begin operating a digital bank. The timeframe has reported to be within the next two months.