After months of speculation about an IPO date, Slack is finally going public.
The productivity service maker filed confidentially, according to a press release published Monday.
The release notes that Slack has “submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1” to the SEC, with the public listing due to take place after the SEC completes its review process.
In January, reports suggested that Slack planned to go public by directly listing its shares on a stock exchange, foregoing the traditional IPO process. Bloomberg reports they are taking this approach.
A direct listing means Slack will forego the support of traditional underwriters and will give insiders the option to sell instantly. That often results in volatility in the company’s early trading days.
Reports of the planned IPO came as early as last September, at which time The Wall Street Journal suggested that it could come as early as the first half of 2019, with a potential valuation of $7 billion. While Slack Co-Founder and CEO Stewart Butterfield told Fortune in November that the company had “no specific timeline for an IPO,” the company proceeded to hire investment bank Goldman Sachs as the lead underwriter for the public offering in December.
This year is expected to be big for IPOs, with Uber and Airbnb expected to file paperwork in the coming months. Lyft confidentially filed for its own planned IPO in early December.
