Snapchat reportedly files for IPO and could be valued at $25 billion

The California-based Snapchat has 'secretly' filed for IPO and is seeking to raise as much as $4 billion, according to Reuters.

The report claimed, 'Messaging app Snapchat has filed the paperwork confidentially for an initial public offering (IPO), sources familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.' It also stated that the popular messaging platform could be valued anywhere between $20 billion and $25 billion.

According to Forbes, Snapchat is reportedly looking at going public "as early as the first quarter of 2017 and could set the stage for a resurgence in tech IPOs."

If the reports and anticipations come out to be true, Snapchat will make the largest IPO since Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's went public two years ago valued at $170.9 billion.

Snapchat filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the U.S. Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act. Companies with less than $1 billion in revenue can secretly file for an IPO which gives a time window between the SEC getting the documents and company becoming available for public scrutiny, both from industry watchers and potential investors.

Snapchat founded in 2012 is a mobile app that allows users to send photos that disappear within 24 hours. Currently, it has more than 150 million active users, about 60 percent of whom are aged 13 to 24, making it an engaging way for marketers to reach millennials.

Snapchat is targeting as much as $1 billion in revenue for 2017, whereas it’s estimating between $250 million and $350 million for this year.

Snapchat recently made its first venture into hardware by selling video-capturing Spectacles for $129.99 a pop, and the company is expected to sell thousands of its Spectacles in pop-up vending machines around the country.