Square Finally Files for an IPO The electronics payments company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol 'SQ.'
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This story originally appeared on Fortune Magazine
Square, the popular electronic payments company, filed its public documents for an initial public offering on Wednesday after doing so confidentially earlier this summer.
The San Francisco-based company, founded and led by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, said that it plans to raise $275 million, although that's likely a placeholder figure that will later be increased.
It plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under ticker symbol "SQ," with Goldman Sachs serving as lead underwriter. Other banks working on the deal include J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley.
Square reports a $77.6 million net loss on around $560.5 million of what it calls "net revenue" for the first six months of 2015, compared to a $79 million net loss on around $372 million in revenue for the same period in 2014.
Major shareholders in Square, which has raised nearly $600 million in venture capital funding, include Sequoia Capital (5.4% pre-IPO stake) and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. High profile board members include former Goldman Sachs CFO David Viniar and economist Lawrence Summers.
Square submitted a confidential filing to federal regulators under the JOBS Act, an option for companies with less than $1 billion in annual revenue.
Dorsey as Square's CEO puts an even greater spotlight on its IPO. Last week, he became Twitter's permanent CEO, begging the question of whether he can manage both CEO roles effectively. With this filing, it's expected that Square will try to list its stock on the markets before the end of 2015.
Wall Street will likely be interested in the evolution of Square's business. Beyond processing payments for merchants, Square has been focused on selling merchants paid services like analytics, payroll, and cash advances.The company also has a few consumer businesses including, Square Cash, which lets people send money to each other using a mobile app, and food delivery service Caviar.
