Pinterest seeks between $ 15 and $ 17 per share during its IPO, less than the last private valuation By Reuters

(Reuters) – Pinterest (NYSE: Inc.) on Monday set a price range of 15 to 17 dollars per share for its initial public offering of 75 million shares, worth less than $ 12 billion to which the online image search company has got its last fundraiser. in 2017.

At the top of its target range, the company could have a stock market valuation of about $ 11.30 billion and generate net proceeds of $ 1.3 billion, taking into account restricted stock units and options.

Reuters announced in January that Pinterest, which was considering listing under the symbol "PINS" on the New York Stock Exchange, could collect about $ 1.5 billion and that the IPO is expected to take place during the first six months of 2019.

The company, which owns the picture search website known for food and fashion pictures released by its users, has recorded an annual business turnover of $ 755.9 million in 2018, in 60% increase over the previous year.

But it remains unprofitable even though its net loss declined to $ 62.97 million in 2018, up from $ 130 million a year earlier.

The company will go public with a two-class share structure to concentrate voting rights with class B shareholders, including co-founder, president and chief executive officer Benjamin Silbermann, according to a document filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States.

Pinterest would join a host of leading companies that became public, including Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ 🙂 and Levi Strauss (NYSE :).

Uber Technologies Inc. is also expected to launch its IPO this month, according to sources.

Profitability is a key theme for companies that have gone public since the beginning of the year. Lyft's shares slid under the price of their IPO on the second day after launch, as analysts did not see the way forward to achieve profitability.

The IPOs of Pinterest and other unicorns of this type have created a difficult situation for investors who do not want to miss popular fast-growing companies, but who must at the same time weigh the risks faced by businesses with unproven savings. .