Uber Technologies has reportedly filed paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), marking its first official step towards an IPO and becoming a publically traded company. The filing comes just days after rival firm Lyft made a similar move, with both companies apparently targeting early next year for an initial offering.

According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited three people with knowledge of the matter, Ubers initial public offering could be one of the biggest technology listings ever, with the ride-hailing firm valued at $76bn (£59.7bn) during its most recent round of private financing. Industry analysts project it could be valued at as much as $120bn for the IPO.

Ubers initial filing has doubtless been delayed by the firms controversy-plagued recent history, with the company spending most of last year embroiled in a series of legal, public relations and workplace-related fiascoes. Just over a year ago, co-founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick departed the company, and new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi has spent much of 2018 attempting to turn the company around and rehabilitate its image.

As part of a push for transparency (and in an effort to prepare potential investors for the IPO) Uber has been self-reporting quarterly financial results recently, with its figures for Q3 2018 showing slowing growth and an overall loss of $1.07bn. However, with gross bookings of $12.7bn and revenues of $2.95bn, the firms scale remains impressive.

Uber has not formally announced underwriting banks for the IPO, but Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are likely to lead the process, according to Reuters. Rivals Lyft have hired JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse and Jefferies as underwriters.