Nextdoor, the social network for neighbours, plans $5bn listing
Nextdoor, a social network for neighbours sharing information or trading goods and services, is reportedly planning to go public with a valuation as high as $5bn (£3.8bn).
The company is targeting a valuation in the range of $4 billion to $5 billion, according to Bloomberg.
It could seek to go public through a so-called direct listing, as Spotify did in 2018. Alternatively, Nextdoor could merge with a special purpose acquisition company in order to go public, although Nextdoor has reportedly rejected this option in the past.
A float could happen before the end of 2021, Bloomberg said.
The business has raised around $470m in funding from backers including Axel Springer, Benchmark and Kleiner Perkins. It was most recently valued at $2.2bn when it last raised funding in 2019.
The app, which launched in America in 2011, came to the UK in September 2016. Users sign in with their postcode to access a local messaging board and the ability to contact people in their areas.
Neighbours use the service to post recommendations on plumbers and mechanics, gossip about local crime, scout for babysitters or sell old furniture.
Going public would follow months of growth for Nextdoor which has become a critical service for many people during the coronavirus pandemic.
The business has been run since 2018 by Sarah Friar, a Northern Ireland-born executive who was previously one of Jack Dorsey’s top executives at his finance business Square.
Ms Friar has sought to introduce behaviour guides into the Nextdoor app to prevent hostility. The app has faced claims that discussions about crime in neighbourhoods risks veering into racial profiling.
Msr Friar told The Telegraph last year that Nextdoor is intentionally “friction-full” when people sign up to teach them the rules, rather than Silicon Valley’s typical “friction-less” way of getting users signed up as quickly as possible.
Its users are also restricted to using their own names and need to verify their address using a printed postcard, which the company hopes will keep discussions on the app civil.
