By Sri Hari N S and Manya Saini
(Reuters) -Klaviyo is seeking a fully-diluted valuation of up to $8.4 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) in the United States, the marketing firm said on Monday, as it becomes the latest company to tap a growing wave of stock market listings.
SoftBank-backed chip designer Arm Holdings Ltd, grocery delivery service Instacart and biopharmaceutical firm Neumora Therapeutics have teed up their IPO plans, signaling a thaw in the market for new issues that had remained moribund for nearly two years.
Boston-based Klaviyo, which operates an email marketing platform, and its selling shareholders are offering 19.2 million shares at $25 to $27 apiece and are aiming to raise $518.4 million at the top end of the range.
However, the company's proposed valuation is a climb-down from the $9.15 billion pre-money valuation at which Klaviyo last raised capital in 2021, reflecting a broader gloom in the technology startup ecosystem.
Klaviyo, whose co-founder and CEO Andrew Bialecki holds a 38% stake, also counts Canadian e-commerce giant Shopify (TSX:SHOP) and affiliates of investment company Summit Partners as its shareholders.
Founded in 2012, Klaviyo helps store and analyze data for e-commerce brands that enables them to send out personalized marketing emails and messages to potential customers.
It has a headcount of over 1,500 and more than 130,000 customers as of June 30. The company also operates internationally, including in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Klaviyo posted 51% growth in revenue to $164.6 million for the three months ended June 30.
Like Instacart, which also set terms for its IPO on Monday, Klaviyo is profitable, a factor that could help it find favor among picky investors who have been prioritizing sustainable earnings over ambitious growth targets.
The company is expected to debut in September, a busy month for stock market listings that could serve as a litmus test for other companies looking to go public.
Certain funds and accounts managed by asset manager BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) and entities affiliated with AllianceBernstein L.P. have separately indicated an interest in buying a total of up to $100 million in the offering, Klaviyo said.
It expects to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "KVYO".
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Citigroup (NYSE:C) are lead underwriters for the offering.