Hootsuite close to securing ‘pre-IPO’ investment: report

CEO Ryan Holmes says he “can neither confirm nor deny” the report

Hootsuite may be close to securing yet another investment according to an article published in The Wall Street Journal Monday—one that could be an early move in a long-awaited initial public offering (IPO).

Fidelity Investments, a major Boston-based multinational financial services company, is in talks with Hootsuite, the article says, citing an unnamed source close to the matter. The deal, which WSJ‘s source says is still months away, would bring the Vancouver social media company one step closer to an IPO. The article describes the investment as “so-called crossover financing,” in which “an institution that largely invests in public companies will invest in a private firm ahead of a planned IPO to avoid the risk of missing out on the investment or acquiring a smaller-than-desired stake during the IPO process.”

The size of the investment, as well as Hootsuite’s valuation, was not disclosed, although the source said a previous valuation had pegged the rapidly-growing company at $725 million. Both Hootsuite and Fidelity declined WSJ‘s request for comment.

Hootsuite also declined BCBusiness, saying “Hootsuite does not comment on rumours or speculation.”

Meanwhile, Hootsuite CEO Ryan Holmes sent this tweet out around noon:

i can neither confirm nor deny…

— Ryan Holmes (@invoker) August 25, 2014

Last year, Hootsuite secured the largest funding round ever raised by a Canadian software company.

(Source: The Wall Street Journal)