The potential maneuvers are aimed at resolving a lingering problem for Stripe: Some of its veteran employees hold restricted stock units due to expire soon, meaning a big piece of their compensation could evaporate without action from the company.
The company is considering both a direct listing and a private-market transaction that would give employees liquidity in the next 12 months, according to an email sent to employees. Stripe scheduled a company all-hands for Friday to discuss the options. The company hired Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan to help drum up interest from investors.