Square Inc., the mobile-payments company founded and led by Jack Dorsey, the interim chief executive officer of Twitter Inc., filed confidentially for an initial public offering, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Square has been working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. on the IPO, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process is private.
Square, which processed $30 billion in payments from its millions of merchant customers in 2014, has been expanding into other areas such as business lending and payroll processing to provide more services.
Aaron Zamost, a spokesman for San Francisco-based Square, declined to comment, as did representatives for the banks.
Under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, companies with less than $1 billion in revenue can file for an IPO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission privately and work out the details with the SEC outside the public eye.
Dorsey’s Role
Dorsey, who also founded Twitter, was named that company’s interim CEO in June after Dick Costolo said he planned to step down. Dorsey returned to the role after being pushed out in 2008. Twitter has said it’s seeking a full-time commitment to the company, ruling out Dorsey if he stays at Square.
In May, Square announced a funding round from Victory Park Capital for its Square Capital business-lending program, without disclosing the amount. Square Capital offers loans to merchants that are repaid through a portion of sales processed by Square. In April alone, Square advanced almost $25 million in capital, according to a statement at the time.
In June, Square released a payroll processing service for merchants in California, which the company said it will bring to additional states soon. Also in June, Square unveiled a wireless device that enables merchants to accept payments from Apple Pay through a smartphone or tablet.
Forbes reported last month that Square is preparing to file for an IPO, citing unnamed sources.
News by Bloomberg, edited by ESM
