Twitter Submits Intent for IPO

Twitter has tweeted its intent for an initial public offering.

“We’ve confidentially submitted an S-1 to the SEC for a planned IPO. This tweet does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale,” the company tweeted on Thursday.

Just yesterday, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo dodged a question while at a technology conference as to whether he planned on taking the company public. At the same conference, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg advised that Twitter should not fear an IPO, because it could lead to a better-run company.

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Twitter has raised $1.2 billion from a variety of sources who stand to make huge profits in the event of a successful IPO. Some of the early investors include Benchmark Capital, Institutional Venture Partners, Spark Capital, Bezos Expeditions, Digital Garage and Union Square Ventures. More recently, Digital Sky Technologies sunk $800 million into Twitter while Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal invested $300 million.

Twitter, which allows users to send messages of 140 characters to their followers, has become a phenomenon since its founding seven years ago. Consulting firm eMarketer estimates the company is worth about $10 billion and will post $583 million in revenue this year. Twitter, though, filed for its IPO confidentially, so it is keeping its exact financials under wraps for the time being.

Allowing such secrecy comes by way of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, a 2012 law better known as the JOBS Act that also allows for equity crowdfunding. 

While Twitter hasn’t shared specifics, it has been estimated that there are 555 million active users who send 58 million tweets per day.

 

We’ve confidentially submitted an S-1 to the SEC for a planned IPO. This Tweet does not constitute an offer of any securities for sale.

— Twitter (@twitter) September 12, 2013