£9.9bn Twitter IPO To Be Announced This Week – Report

Twitter intends to make its IPO filing public this week, according to reports, with the aim to begin trading before US Thanksgiving on 28 November.

The ambitious target means Twitter will have to condense many traditional pre-IPO activities, but is likely to trade on the New York Stock exchange with shares costing between $28 and $30, giving the company a market value of between $15 and $16 billion (£9.2 – 9.9bn).

Twitter filed a Form S-1 draft with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a step undertaken by almost all companies planning to go public, earlier this year. It is a significant document that outlines financial results, business structure and the risks of investing in the company.

Twitter IPO

The S-1 is usually made public, with feedback from regulators also made open, but Twitter took advantage of a new law intended for startups that lets firms with revenue of less than $1 billion submit a draft, with feedback provided in private. The intention was to allow small companies to decide whether to try and find new investment or go public.

Twitter accidentally tweeted it had submitted an S-1 earlier this month, although it is suggested it announced the filing in order to prevent a media frenzy later on. However, it must eventually formally publicise the document, along with any drafts that have been submitted.

The social network claims to have more than 200 million regular users and is by far the highest profile company to take advantage of the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act of 2012. It is also the most anticipated IPO in the technology sector since Facebook’s troubled listing last year.

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