Reddit eyes a $6.5 billion valuation for its planned IPO—well short of its pandemic-era peak

The social media company plans to target a price range of $31 to $34 per share in the first-time share sale, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

At that price range, Reddit would have a fully diluted value of about $6 billion to $6.5 billion, the people said. The company plans to being marketing the shares to potential investors on March 11, they added.

Reddit is also planning to let some employees sell stock in the IPO, according to the people. The company had already disclosed that it will set aside shares in the IPO to be bought by users and moderators of its platform.

Details of the offering including the size and timing could change, the people added. The IPO is being led by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp., according to its filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Representatives for those banks declined to comment. Some details including the price range and valuation were reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.

San Francisco-based Reddit is a high-profile member of this year’s club of newly and soon-to-be public companies, following a two-year slump in IPOs on US exchanges.

The biggest of those listings was the $1.57 billion offering by Amer Sports Inc. in January. Current IPO candidates include Microsoft Corp.-backed data security start up Rubrik Inc. and health-care payments company Waystar Technologies Inc.

Reddit was weighing feedback from early meetings with potential IPO investors that it should consider a valuation of at least $5 billion, Bloomberg News reported in January. The company was targeting a valuation in the mid-single-digit-billions, people familiar with the matter said at the time.

The valuations under consideration would be a significant retreat from…