Lyft reportedly filed paperwork to go public with an IPO in early 2019

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Ride hailing giant and main Uber competitor Lyft has filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to go public, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The company has not yet determined the number or value of shares to go on offer, and will IPO after the SEC completes its review, according to the Journal. The paper expects Lyft's IPO in the first half of 2019.

Lyft currently has a valuation of $15 billion, a fraction of the $120 billion valuation Uber has targeted for itself before going public.

However, Lyft looks ready to beat Uber to the punch with its IPO.