Lyft Inc. is reportedly preparing to take the first step toward becoming a publicly traded company.

Anonymous sources have told Reuters that the ride-hailing giant, which was valued at $7.5 billion after its last funding round, recently wrapped up a series of interviews with advisory firms focused on planning initial public offerings. Lyft is expected to make its pick “shortly.” No specific time frame was provided, but the decision could be brought fairly soon based on the leaked information.

The tipsters were cited as saying that the company may go public as early as next year. It will be the designated advisory firm’s responsibility to help Lyft execute the offering, which will among others entail finding investment banks to act as underwriters.

The task may prove challenging. According to Reuters, some underwriters may be deterred from working with Lyft out of fear that they would subsequently face a harder time competing for a role in rival Uber Technologies Inc.’s eventual initial public offering. Uber is the largest private firm in the world, with a valuation of $68 billion.

Further complicating the situation for Lyft is that several leading investment banks, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., own stakes in Uber. Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s recently appointed chief executive officer, said during an August meeting with employees that he may launch an IPO in 18 to 36 months.

That means Lyft could be deliberately looking to beat its rival to the stock market, at least if the potential IPO time frame shared by the tipsters is to be believed. The timing would certainly make sense from a market standpoint. In recent months, the pace of tech IPOs has been steadily picking up.

The past 48 hours alone saw two public offerings. Television streaming provider Roku Inc. raised $252 million on a $2 billion valuation, while Rovio, the Finnish company behind the Angry Birds franchise, started trading today with a market cap of about $1 billion. Spotify AB is reportedly planning to launch an IPO as well in the near future.

It remains to be seen exactly when Lyft will join the fray. The tipsters stressed that it’s far from certain the company will take the earliest opportunity to go public, and the leadership team seems to be weighing its options carefully. Rumors emerged earlier this month that the company is holding talks with Alphabet Inc. about a potential investment.

Image: Spur