(Bloomberg) -- Stripe Inc., the digital payments company last valued at nearly $100 billion, is in early discussions with investment banks about going public as soon as next year, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The 11-year-old company is considering a market debut through a direct listing or initial public offering, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information was private. Its plans including the timing could still change, the people said.
A representative for Stripe, with headquarters in Dublin and San Francisco, declined to comment.
Stripe, founded by brothers John and Patrick Collison, is one of the most anticipated listings in years and among the biggest private companies to ever go public. Already, the Collisons each have a net worth of $11.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Stripe raised $600 million in March at a valuation of $95 billion. That makes it the most valuable U.S. startup and one of the biggest globally alongside TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd, according to data provider CB Insights.
In the months following that valuation, private trades have been considerably higher. Existing investors have been able to sell shares at a price that pegs the company at $152 billion, according to data provider PitchBook.
Direct Listing
If it pursues a direct listing, it would be the latest in a growing list of companies to go the less conventional route pioneered by Spotify Technology SA in 2018. In a direct listing, a company's investors can typically begin selling their shares on the public market without new shares being issued to raise capital for the firm.
Reuters reported in July that the company hired Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP as a legal adviser on its early-stage listing preparations.
Stripe competes with Square Inc. and Paypal Holdings Inc. Its products are used by businesses including Amazon.com Inc., Salesforce.com Inc. and Lyft Inc.
Stripe's investors include Allianz SE , Axa SA, Baillie Gifford, Fidelity Management & Research Co., Sequoia Capital and Ireland's National Treasury Management Agency.
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