Snapchat preparing IPO which could see company valued at $25bn go public as early as March 2017

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Snapchat is putting together an initial public offering that would value the company at $25bn.

Snap Inc, Snapchat’s parent company, is working on paperwork that could release the IPO as early as March, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Should the virtual messaging company go through the share sale at that valuation during that timeframe, it would be the highest valued company since 2014, when Alibaba Group Holding Ltd debuted at $168bn valuation.

During the last round of funding in May, Snap – best known for allowing users to send message, photos, and videos that disappear after viewing – was valued at $17.8bn.

If Snap makes its debut in March, it would become the first venture-backed startup to go public. The elite group of billion-dollar startups includes Uber, Airbnb, and SpaceX.

The four-year-old company, based in Venice, California, first began selling advertisements on the platform in 2014 and has since shown a significant increase in revenue. In 2015 they generated only $60m, but are already ahead of their $250m projection for the first part of 2016.

Snapchat has some 150 million daily active users. A successful public offering could serve as a major boon to the tech-IPO market.