Online real estate search portal Trulia has reportedly filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to follow in the footsteps of rival Zillow and make an initial public offering of shares in the company.
Reuters, citing anonymous sources, reported that Trulia was attempting to keep its plans for an IPO under wraps under the provisions of a new law that allows emerging companies with less than $1 billion in revenue to file confidentially. That’s an attractive option for some companies, Reuters said, because the filing can be withdrawn without publicizing it if regulatory issues come up.
If a company that has made a confidential filing decides to move forward with an IPO, the U.S. Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act requires that they make an S-1 registration statement public at least 21 days before they make a marketing push.
Trulia spokesman Ken Shuman said the company had no comment on the report.
Trulia’s rival Zillow went public last year, raising $75.7 million in an IPO and private placement of 3.7 million shares that valued the company at nearly $1 billion.
Zillow’s S-1 registration statement revealed that the company had racked up $79.5 million in cumulative losses since 2004, but was approaching profitability. (In its most recent quarterly report to investors, Zillow reported a $1.74 million profit for the first three months of the year.)
According to Web metrics company Experian Hitwise, Trulia.com was the second most visited real estate listing portal in June, behind only Zillow.
Trulia began shuffling management in preparation for an IPO in February 2011, and in December hired two executives with experience at publicly traded companies.
