Ride-hailing firm Lyft Inc files for IPO with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Ride-hailing company Lyft Inc on Thursday filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering, ending months of speculation about the timing of its much-awaited market debut.[caption id="attachment_4223877" align="alignleft" width="380"]

An illuminated sign appears in a Lyft ride-hailing car in Los Angeles. Reuters[/caption]The company, which was last valued at about $15 billion, did not specify the number of shares it was selling or the price range for the offering in a confidential filing with the SEC.The IPO is slated for the first half of 2019, sources have told Reuters. Bigger rival Uber Technologies Inc is also expected to pursue an IPO next year that could value it at about $120 billion.Lyft's IPO is expected to commence after the SEC completes its review process, it said here in a press release on Thursday.Reuters reported in October that the company had chosen JPMorgan Chase & Co, Credit Suisse and Jefferies as underwriters for its IPO.Lyft was set up in 2012 by technology entrepreneurs John Zimmer and Logan Green, three years after Travis Kalanick co-founded Uber.