Author: Dan Gendro

The company founded by Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, is filing for an initial public offering of $275 million.

Mobile payments company, Square Inc., which was founded by Jack Dorsey, the CEO at Twitter, has now filed for a $275 million IPO, though it is likely that the figure – which is considered to be a placeholder – will change before anything official takes place.

Aside from being a co-founder of Square, Dorsey is also the CEO and is the largest shareholder.

At the time of the writing of this article, Dorsey was holding onto a 24.4 percent stake of the company. The next largest owner is Jim McKelvey, whose stake in the company is 9.4 percent. Underwriters of the IPO include JPMorgan, Goldman, Morgan Stanley, Jeffries, Deutsche, RBC, Stifel and Barclays. The Form S-1 filing by the company was made with the Securities and Exchange Commission, but it did not identify a specific share price for the mobile payments company, nor did it state how many of the shares would be made available for purchase.

The primary focus of Square mobile payments is small businesses who wish to process credit card payments.

As a component of the intentions of the company to go public, Dorsey intends to donate the proceeds of tens of millions of shares of the company to the Start Small Foundation, his own charity. This was included within the regulatory filing. It states and underscores the point within the filing that says “This may at times adversely affect his ability to devote time, attention and effort to Square.”

While holding the top spots at two tech giants could be problematic, Dorsey has expressed that he is willing to delegate some tasks to some of Twitter’s senior execs, such as Adam Bain, the company’s COO.

There have been claims that one of the reasons that Dorsey had previously lost his position as the head of Twitter was due to having spent too much of his time on “extracurricular activities,” which included a broad spectrum of personal activities including a sewing class. Still, during the first half of this year, Square was profitable, having drawn in more than $560.6 million in revenue during that time. Still, though, increased spending has caused it to suffer a loss of $77.6 million.

Square announces plans to launch IPO in the near future

Square, one of North America’s leading mobile payments firms, has announced plans to file an Initial Public Offering (IPO), selling shares under the ticker symbol SQ. Analysts have been speculating that Square would launch an IPO for months, but the company has been relatively quiet regarding its plans, until now. Currently, the Square IPO is valued at as much as $275 million, though this number could change as the IPO attracts more interest from investors.

Company expected to offer more information concerning IPO in the coming months

The number of shares the company will offer and what price range these shares will have are not yet set in stone. Goldman Sachs will serve as the lead underwriter for the company’s shares, alongside JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley. When the IPO will launch has not yet been officially announced, but growing interest in mobile payments may mean that the IPO is coming sooner rather than later.

Mobile payments continue to gain popularity in the US and elsewhere

Mobile payments have become very popular in the United States and elsewhere around the world. Square has established a significant lead in the sector, proving that its Square Cash application, as well as other services, are capable of engaging mobile consumers and allowing retailers to do the same. In 2014, Square reported some $850 million in revenue, though it had also lost approximately $154 million. The company has narrowed its losses so far this year, reporting $77 million in losses and $560 million in revenue generated.

Square proves that it can find success in the mobile payments field

Since its founding in 2009, Square has raised more than $600 million in venture capital. The company has established itself as a leading entity in mobile payments and had helped Starbucks do the same over a relatively short amount of time. As mobile payments continue to grow in popularity, Square is likely to continue seeing success in this field, especially as it works with other companies that also have a strong interest in mobile commerce.