Britannica Group, the company behind the 250-year-old Encyclopaedia Britannica and the Merriam-Webster dictionary, said on Monday it had confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States.
The number of shares to be sold in the IPO and the price range have not been determined, Britannica said.
Apart from its two iconic publications, the Chicago-based company also offers digital courses and technology for multimedia learning in schools.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica was first published in 1768 in Edinburgh, Scotland and went digital-only more than a decade ago as the internet made its leather-bound reference guides redundant.
Merriam-Webster, first published in the early 19th century, has been one of the most popular reference tools in lexicography.
The company joins a number of firms looking to test investor appetite for new listings, as hopes of a soft landing grow.
Companies sometimes file confidentially for IPOs to keep their financial details private for longer.