Image-sharing social network, Pinterest, plans to make a stock exchange debut this spring and expects a valuation of up to $9 billion.
According to analysts, this valuation is a discount from the company’s most recent valuation on the private markets, although it keeps Pinterest in the same range as some of the other major tech companies with plans for an IPO in 2019.
In a regulatory filing earlier this week, the company disclosed its plan to sell 75 million shares at $15 to $17 per share. It expects to raise $1.3 billion in net proceeds and a valuation of just under $9 billion based on an outstanding share count of 529 million shares at the time of the offering. Even though Pinterest would be valued as high as $11.3 billion if stock options are included, that is not how it would be valued at its public offering.
Among high tech IPOs, ride-hailing platform Lyft (LYFT) was the first one to go public raising $2.3 billion in its offering, but was soon followed by a rough patch in terms of trading.
In its last fundraising round in 2017, Pinterest was valued at $12 billion and was nearing $1 billion in ad revenue.
In its 2018 IPO prospectus, the company reported $756 million in revenue that accounted for a 60% y-o-y growth. However, the company still posted a net loss of $63 million.
Other companies set to debut at the stock exchange this year are Uber, Slack, and Postmates.