Slack considering direct listing - report

News Broadband Global 14 JAN 2019
Slack considering direct listing - report

Workplace productivity app Slack Technologies could follow in the footsteps of Spotify and go public through a direct listing, the Wall Street Journal reported. Sources familiar with the matter said plans could still change. The move is expected to take place in the second quarter. A direct listing lets the market play a greater role in setting the price, with companies not holding road shows or other typical IPO events to line up investors beforehand. 

Slack expects it could achieve a valuation of well over USD 7 billion, the sources added. The company is working with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Allen & Co. on the deal. The trio were the advisers on Spotify’s direct listing, and were paid about USD 36 million in total for their work at the time. 

Slack last year had over 8 million daily active users and 3 million paid users. The company has raised more than USD 1 billion since it launched in 2013 at increasingly higher valuations and still has significant cash on its balance sheet, sources said. In August, Slack raised USD 427 million in a funding round led by Dragoneer Investment Group and General Atlantic, valuing the company at USD 7.1 billion. It raised money from SoftBank in 2017. 

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Internet

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Softbank

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Global

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Corporate strategy, Financial funding

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