Pinterest seeks up to $1.28bn in IPO below 2017 value

Pinterest Inc is seeking to raise as much as $1.28bn in an US initial public offering that could value the company below the amount it reached in its last private valuation.

The maker of online inspiration boards is offering 75mn shares for $15 to $17 apiece, according to a filing yesterday.

Based on the total number of Class A and Class B shares outstanding after the offering, if it priced at the top of the range, that would give Pinterest a market valuation of about $9bn, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Its fully diluted value could be higher.

In its last private funding round in 2017, the company raised $150mn for a total valuation of about $12.3bn.

Pinterest will start its IPO roadshow in New York Monday and travel to cities including Boston, San Francisco and Chicago to market the shares, according to a termsheet reviewed by Bloomberg. It aims to price

the stock after the market closes on April 17.

San Francisco-based Pinterest accelerated its offering to capitalize on the hot US market for IPOs, which expects to see a flurry of US tech companies go public this year.

In March, No 2 US ride-hailing giant Lyft Inc priced its shares at $72 in the largest offering from a tech upstart since Snap Inc went public two years ago. Lyft was the biggest US listing after the partial government shutdown dampened first quarter listings’ momentum. After dipping below the IPO price, Lyft is now trading around $75.

Pinterest earlier revealed about $756mn in revenue from online advertisements in 2018, a 60% growth rate that accelerated from the year prior. Its net loss shrunk to $63mn in 2018 from $130mn in 2017. Pinterest says 265mn people use the digital scrapbook at least once a month.

The share sale will be led by banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Allen & Co Pinterest applied to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PINS.