Obscure unicorns could boost 2017 IPO market

San Francisco

SOCIAL media firm Snap Inc may be the highest profile tech initial public offering (IPO) planned for 2017, with the potential to raise billions.

But more than a dozen expected stock offerings of relatively obscure software firms targeting business customers - little-known names such as Apttus, Tintri and Okta - could be just as important in thawing a long-frozen IPO market, according to investment bankers and advisers who work on IPOs.