Reddit, the controversial discussion forum that has emerged as a haven for free speech online, has begun a stock market listing process that could see it complete its transition to corporate trends. mainstream.
The San Francisco-based company said late Wednesday that it had filed a confidential filing for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Launching Our Business Startup Act of 2012 allows companies to file to list shares in the United States without publishing their prospectus until the end of the process, as long as annual sales their latest year less than 1 billion dollars.
Reddit said it has yet to determine how many shares it will sell or the likely price range for the stock. It puts it $10 billion valuation at the time of its last funding round, in August, up from $6 billion Reddit said it was valued at six months earlier.
A Reddit IPO has been hotly anticipated in recent months. The platform’s role as a forum where users appear under pseudonyms, rather than claiming “real” identities, has set it apart from other social media sites.
This year, Reddit’s r / WallStreetBets Bulletin boards have become a force on Wall Street through the stock meme craze as individual investors use the forum to coordinate the buying and rallying of certain stocks, such as the gaming retailer. GameStop.
The founders of Reddit have said that the “whatever happens” ethos is never had their intention in creating the website and its role as a haven for free speech arose by accident.
In recent years, the company has focused on tailoring its forums more actively and building an advertising business to prepare for the mass market move.
Reddit has had a long and winding road to Wall Street. It was founded in 2005, a year after Facebook, and was acquired by Condé Nast a year later for $10 million.
It was then spun off again as a separate company and went through a series of executives before co-founder Steve Huffman. back to run Reddit and prepare it for a list.
