Anduril, the US defence technology company, is being eyed by the market as an initial public offering candidate, after exploratory conversations, according to three sources familiar, though the company has denied taking formal steps toward a deal so far.

The sources referred to informal conversations including unsolicited approaches, from external advisers and that Anduril would likely be well-placed to list as soon as 2025.

The Costa Mesa, California-based company so far has not formalised appointments of advisors or set any IPO timings, the sources explained.

A private funding round is likely to be carried out ahead of any listing, said one of the sources.

A spokesperson for Anduril said the company is not close to an initial public offering.

“As we’ve said publicly before, taking the company public is one of our longer-term goals, but our current priority is growth and building a sustainable business in a notoriously challenging industry,” the spokesperson said.

“Bringing innovative new products to market and increasing the value we bring to customers remains our focus. We’ll consider going public only when it’s in the best interests of all of our stakeholders – we don’t have a specific timeline,” she said.

The company is reportedly pursuing a USD 1.5bn capital raise that would value it at USD 12.5bn, marking a potential jump in valuation from USD 8.5bn almost two years ago. The report cited Anduril’s revenue for 2023 at approximately USD 500m.

The company’s equity story around defense technology has been driving investor attention given rising macroeconomic and geopolitical tensions, according to one of the sources.

This news service previously reported that more than just weapons manufacturers, the pipeline of defense related IPO candidates is expected to expand to multiple facets of the industry.

This will include technology companies and application developers spanning from software and gear to manufacturers of aerospace and machinery components, as the Department of Defense also ramps up spending in this field.

For instance, Loar Holdings, a New York-based company that specialises in the production of niche aerospace and defense components, completed an IPO in previous months.