Client service software maker Zendesk files for $150 million IPO

(Reuters) - Zendesk Inc, a maker of customer service software, filed with U.S. regulators on Thursday for an initial public offering of up to $150 million (89 million pounds).

The company, founded in Denmark in 2007, is the latest in a string of cloud-based technology firms that have gone public or are preparing to list amid strong investor interest in such companies.

Goldman Sachs & Co, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse are the lead underwriters for the IPO, Zendesk said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (http://r.reuters.com/ben48v)

Charles River Ventures, an early investor in Twitter Inc, is Zendesk's biggest shareholder with a 24.5 percent stake, followed by Benchmark Capital Partners LP that has an 18.7 percent stake.

Zendesk also said on Thursday that it acquired Singapore-based live chat software maker Zopim Technologies Pte Ltd to expand its chat capabilities.

Zendesk, whose software is used by companies such as Vodafone Group Plc and data storage company Box Inc, posted an 88 percent rise in revenue to $72.1 million (43.0 million pounds) for the year ended December 31.

Zendesk's net loss narrowed to $22.6 million from $24.4 million a year earlier.

The San Francisco-based company said it planned to use the IPO proceeds for working capital, software development and the expansion of its sales team.

The filing did not say how many shares will be offered or their expected price.

Zendesk said it planned to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ZEN".

The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its initial IPO filing is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different.

(Reporting by Amrutha Gayathri in Bangalore; Editing by Kirti Pandey)