Online marketplace Trade Me is believed to be mulling its options for a $3 billion public float next year, according to The Australian.

According to the newspapers’ sources the business’ owner, London-based private equity firm Apax Partners, will soon call for proposals from investment banks for the potential listing.

However, Trade Me chief executive Anders Skoe told Stuff there are no “immediate” plans for Apax to take the business public, and that, for now, it is business as usual.

Trade Me is New Zealand’s biggest auction and classifieds website, and a potential float is rumored to be worth $3 billion – or more – to Apax, which bought the business in 2019.

It wouldn’t be the first digital-first retailer to have floated in the last year, with Booktopia, Adore Beauty, MyDeal, Rent the Runway and, most recently, Allbirds riding the post-pandemic wave of online shopping to gain traction in the market.

The classifieds business has also recently increased its product range with the purchase of Homes.co.nz – a move which was initially questioned by the Commerce Commission, but which was ultimately approved.