Pinterest looks to raise up to $ 1.3bn in IPO

Online scrapbooking site Pinterest on Monday said it was planned to raise $ 1.3bn from investors by selling 75m shares at between $ 15 and $ 17, according to a regulatory filing.

The pricing pegs Pinterest's potential valuation below the $ 12bn at 2017. It could not be more than a sign for Wall Street's interest in new tech listings, ahead of a series of big-name offerings in the coming months, including Uber.

The San Francisco-based company is the second in a wave of the Silicon Valley initial public offerings planned for this year and next, at so-called "unicorn" valuations of more than $ 1bn. Contrary to previous generations of Silicon Valley tech companies, the latest crop of the world has become more flexible.

Lyft, the ride-sharing app, was first out of the gate this year, raising more than had been expected. But the poor post-float performance has damped the mood around this year's big tech IPOs. After starting soaring on its debut on Nasdaq just a few days ago, Lyft 's stock has gone down.

In particular, investors and executives at Uber will be watching Wall Street's receipt for Lyft and Pinterest closely, as the ride-hailing service prepares for its own IPO.

Pinterest is best known for its dedicated user base that home decor posts, food and wedding photos. The company has pitched itself as an alternative to Silicon Valley's other social networks, which are battling scandals over privacy, misinformation and abuse on their platforms. That is likely to prompt comparisons to Snap's parent, which currently has a market capitalization of just over $ 15bn.

Pinterest, which was founded in 2010 and says around 80 per cent of US mothers are currently users, is expected to emphasize its fast-growing growth and shrinking losses when it meets its prospects on its roadshow. According to its prospectus, net losses more than halved to $ 63m last year, we are up 60 per cent to $ 756m. It has 265m monthly average users.

When the tour wraps up, the new York Stock Exchange will be under the symbol "PINS." Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Allen & Co are lead underwriters on the IPO.