Snapchat plans 'mega-unicorn' flotation worth an estimated $25bn

Social media messaging app Snapchat could soon be publicly owned after reports suggest its parent company, Snap Inc, is planning to list on the stock market as soon as next spring.

The initial public offering, or IPO, is expected to value the company at $25bn (£20.5bn).

The listing would be the biggest social media float since Twitter (Frankfurt: A1W6XZ - news) went public and released its shares in November 2013, raising $18bn (£14.7bn).

Snap Inc's flotation deal would be referred to as a 'mega-unicorn' - a term reserved for any companies valued at over $10bn.

Snapchat, which is based in Los Angeles, has seen its popularity boom in recent years and now boasts a daily user base of 150 million.

The app allows users to send and share photos and short videos, with various effects and filters available to enhance their content - many of them humorous.

The company hopes to attract $350m in advertising revenue this year, a six-fold jump from 2015, after a huge expansion of its brand partnership schemes.

Banking heavyweights Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) and Morgan Stanley (Xetra: 885836 - news) are said to have been appointed to oversee the IPO, which some analysts claim could open the floodgates for other mega-unicorn companies such as Uber or Airbnb to follow suit.