Messaging platform startup Slack Technologies Inc. is about to go public.

That’s according to a report published Wednesday that the company may make it official before the end of the week. The Wall Street Journal, quoting people familiar with the matter, said Slack will make its prospectus available to the public before Friday.

Slack has long been rumored to be going public, though a report April 1 suggested that the company was following in the footsteps of Spotify Technology SA with a direct listing rather than a traditional IPO. That’s a way for companies to become publicly traded without going through a traditional initial public offering.

In a traditional IPO, shares are offered to investors prior to the company floating and new money is raised, whereas in a direct listing a company simply lists existing shares for sale on an exchange. That process is cheaper than a traditional IPO because it doesn’t require underwriters.

According to Reuters, Slack confidentially filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in February, saying that it was on pace for about $500 million in revenue this year.

Founded in 2009 and based in San Francisco, Slack has long been a Silicon Valley darling given that many startups use its collaborative workplace message platform, either a free or a paid version. Slack was reported to have $900 million cash on hand as of October along with revenue of $221 million for the year ended in January.

The news comes on the same day that Slack rolled out a number of new features. At the top of the list is a new feature that allows Slack customers to connect with other people even if they don’t use Slack. Described as building a new bridge between its service and email, the new functionality allows Slack users within the service to discuss and chat with users via built-in email support.

Should Slack go public shortly, it will be yet another 2019 coming-out for a unicorn, a startup with a valuation over $1 billion. But the company enters a turbulent market where unicorns have been met mixed responses. Pinterest Inc. and Zoom Technologies Inc. found willing investors, but the same can’t be said for ride-hailing company Lyft Inc., which continues to trade down from its IPO price.

Photo: Scott Schiller/Flickr