One of Silicon Valley’s biggest tech names may soon be coming to a stock exchange near you.
According to recent reports, Snapchat is trying to raise as much as $4 billion in an initial public offering (IPO), which would value the company at between $25 and $35 billion.
One source said the value of the company could even hit as high as $40 billion, depending on investor demand.
A timetable hasn’t been put on a potential IPO, but many are expecting it to happen relatively quickly. An earlier report said the company’s IPO could come as early as the first quarter, 2017.
Snapchat, which officially changed its corporate name to Snap Inc. recently, plans to file IPO documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission confidentially. It has the right to do this since it has annual revenue of less than $1 billion.
The tech world hasn’t had a massive IPO since Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) went public in late 2014, raising approximately $20 billion. The largest tech IPO this year was Line Corp (NYSE:LN), a Japanese messaging app, which raised $1.1 billion in July.
Snapchat is still a long way from being profitable, at least according to analysts. Some are projecting revenue as high as $1 billion in 2017, as the messaging app starts to focus on bringing in advertising dollars. But none think the company is currently profitable. In fact, most think profitability is at least a few years away as the company focuses on adding employees and office space, as well as manufacturing its recently announced video-capturing glasses.
