Snap Inc., a Snapchat’s parent company, has confidentially filed paperwork for an initial public offering that may value the popular messaging platform at as much as $25 billion. To make them publicly-traded tech company, this is a major step toward what would be one of the highest-profile stock debuts in recent years. The news was first reported by Reuters.
The IPO, which could come as early as March 2017, is reportedly estimated to come in at a valuation of $20 billion to $25 billion. This is significantly higher than the $3 billion buyout offer that Facebook put on the table in 2013.
The Jumpstart Our Business Startups, or JOBS Act, allows companies with less than $1 billion of annual revenue to file for confidential IPOs. It was signed into law in April 2012.
The company filed paperwork for the confidential IPO before the election, the source close to the company said.
