As Slack gears up to hit the markets through an unconventional direct listing, stock activity is increasing on the private markets at a price that values the company at nearly $17 billion, according to Forge Global, a firm that matches private companies and their employees with investors.
The secondary trades can give Slack some visibility into what investors are willing to pay because with a direct listing, there's a less formal system for price discovery. In an IPO, the lead underwriters take orders from investors and raise the price for the offering based on demand, while also typically baking in a first-day pop.
Over the past six months, volume has been between $150 million and $200 million worth of trades, based on transactions that Forge has seen on its own platform. While that number would represent a very small portion of total outstanding Slack shares, the inflating price shows that some investors are willing to pay a premium for a stake in the company.
Bloomberg reported earlier in April that Slack was fetching prices as high as $25 or $26 in private stock deals in the past two months. Sources tell CNBC that they've also seen deals in that price range.
I have no idea of SlackHQ’s financials going into the IPO, but I use it everyday and find it amazing w/ the simple chat layout and integration capabilities SaveThisTweet