Pinterest Aims To Raise $1.3B In IPO At A Valuation Of $11.3B

Pinterest, the image search operator that is gearing up for an initial public offering, is aiming to raise $1.3 billion at a valuation of $11.3 billion.

Citing a regulatory filing, the Financial Times reported the company set a price range of $15 to $17 for shares, aiming to sell 75 million shares in its IPO. At the high end, it gives Pinterest a valuation that is below the $12 billion it was valued at when private investors last invested in the company back in 2017.

Pinterest also disclosed in the filing that two of its co-founders, Ben Silbermann and Evan Sharp, get restricted stock worth as much as $39.7 million each. The shares vest over a five-year period. The paper noted Silbermann, Pinterest’s chief executive, already owns stock and if that stock is priced at the high end of its IPO range it will be valued at $877.7 million. Another Pinterest co-founder, Paul Sciarra, owns around $720.9 million worth of stock. He left the company back in 2012, the news outlet noted. Pinterest disclosed in the filing that its net losses declined in 2018, coming in at $63 million, with revenue 60 percent higher at $756 million. The company has 265 million monthly average users.

Of Pinterest investors, Bessemer Venture Partners stands to benefit the most from the Pinterest IPO. The venture capital firm first made an investment in May of 2011, when the company was valued at a mere $40 million. The stake is now valued at as high as $1 billion, according to the report.

The IPO of Pinterest will mark the second big Silicon Valley IPO for this year. Rideshare firm Lyft was the first to go public. Its shares haven’t performed well since the debut, dampening enthusiasm for the other IPOs including Pinterest and Uber. Investors and executives at Uber will pay close attention to how Lyft and Pinterest perform as public companies ahead of its own planned IPO.