Snap Inc. has confidentially filed for an initial public offering, according to a report published Tuesday.

Reuters quotes sources familiar with the situation as saying that along with the confidential IPO filing, Snap could go public as soon as March on a valuation of$20 billion to $25 billion, making it the largest IPO since Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. floated in 2014 on a valuation of $170.9 billion. As of Snap’s last round in May, it was valued at $18 billion, making a $20 billion to $25 billion float valuation around the right mark.

According to a separate report, Snapchat may be seeking to raise $4 billion from its public offering. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are said to be lead the offering, with JPMorgan Chase & Co., Deutsche Bank AG, Allen & Co., Barclays Plc and Credit Suisse Group AG involved as joint book runners.

Snap was able to file for an IPO confidentially under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, an act that allows business with revenue under $1 billion to work out the details of the float, and talk to investors before making their intention to float public.

As the IPO remains private, financials are not yet available, but it’s known coming into the float that despite its huge valuation, Snap doesn’t make a huge amount of money, having reported revenues of $59 million in 2015, up from $3 million in 2014. The company previously said it expected revenues of between $250 million and $350 million this year, and up to $1 billion in 2017.

Timing

While we’ve said before that Snap going public is indicative of growing confidence when it comes to the support of public markets for tech floats, the timing may have more to do with Snap getting to market as it hits a peak in popularity.

Snap and Facebook have long been in a battle for market share among younger users, with more people aged 12-24 now using Snap over Facebook, according to one report.

Both companies are attempting to grow their offerings, Snap with its Discover service and more recently its video-capturing Spectacles glasses, while Facebook has invested heavily in live video.

Facebook is ahead by overall numbers, having 1.79 billion users globally to Snap’s around 150 million active daily users, but Snap is taking control of the younger market particularly in Western countries, meaning that it is currently extremely well placed to capture more and more advertising share.

Coming into its float, Snapchat has raised $2.63 billion to date from investors including Tencent Holdings, SV Angel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Benchmark, General Catalyst Partners and Institutional Venture Partners.

Image credit: pestoverde/Flickr/CC by 2.0