The owner of messaging app Snapchat has slashed its proposed valuation，as the company gears up for a marketing blitz on what is likely to be one of the largest US tech listings in recent years.
即时信息应用Snapchat的所有者削减了其提议的估值，目前该公司正筹备进行市场推广，以推进近年美国规模最大的科技股上市交易之一。
Snap had previously aimed for a valuation of as much as $25bn, according to people with knowledge of the deal, but a price range of $14 to $16 a share, revealed in an updated regulatory filing yesterday, puts its market valuation in the $16.2bn to $18.5bn range.
知情人士称，此前Snap力求达到250亿美元的估值，但昨日更新的监管申报文件披露的价格区间为每股14至16美元，按此计算，该公司的市场估值介于162亿至185亿美元之间。

The range excludes an overallotment option, shares a company founder is set to receive for taking the company public and shares issued to employees.
这个范围不包括超额配股权、公司创始人将公司上市得到的股票，以及发给雇员的股票。
Based on the 200m shares on offer, Snap would raise up to $3.2bn. That would make it the largest US-listed tech initial public offering since Alibaba in 2014.
根据2亿股的上市股票数量计算，Snap将筹资不超过32亿美元，使其成为自2014年阿里巴巴(Alibaba)上市以来美国最大的科技股首次公开发行(IPO)。
Snap’s listing documents said the IPO would be the first to issue shares with no votes, reserving the power over major decisions and appointments for its co-founders. A dozen of the US’s biggest pension funds have decried that structure. “This is a corporate governance nightmare,” said Michael Underhill, a portfolio manager at RidgeWorth.
Snap的上市文件称，此次IPO将首创没有投票权的股票，让联合创始人保留重大决策和任命的权力。美国十几家大型养老基金谴责了这种结构。“这是一个公司治理噩梦，”RidgeWorth的投资组合经理迈克尔?昂德希尔(Michael Underhill)表示。
Snap is pushing to sell its video ads and sponsored filters, but it faces challenges, including slowing user growth, increasing losses and competition from Facebook-owned Instagram. Snap lost $515m in 2016 as costs ballooned. But the flotation is eagerly anticipated following a quiet period for IPOs.
Snap正在努力销售其视频广告和赞助过滤器，但它面临几个挑战，包括用户增长放缓、亏损增加，以及来自Facebook旗下Instagram的竞争。Snap在2016年亏损5.15亿美元，原因是成本猛增。但在经历了一段IPO淡季后，市场热切期待着此次上市。
It will be widely watched as a barometer of investor appetite for tech “unicorns,” companies that have achieved valuations of more than $1bn without tapping the public markets.
此次IPO将受到广泛关注，被视为投资者对科技“独角兽”（在没有利用公开市场的情况下就达到10亿美元以上估值的科技公司）胃口的晴雨表。
Snap will start its investor roadshow next week, with presentations in London, New York and Boston, followed by San Francisco on February 27, according to a document sent to investors.
发给投资者的文件显示，Snap将在下周启动投资者路演，在伦敦、纽约和波士顿，随后于2月27日在旧金山举行陈述会。
Final pricing is expected after the market close on March 1.
最终发行价预计在3月1日市场收盘后确定。
Snapchat was founded in 2011 by Evan Spiegel, now 26 and chief executive, and Bobby Murphy, now 28 and chief technology officer, as a departure from existing social networks.
Snapchat在2011年由现年26岁的现任首席执行官埃文?斯皮格(Evan Spiegel)和现年28岁的现任首席技术官博比?墨菲(Bobby Murphy)联合创立，其宗旨是要与原有的社交网络不同。
Investors are expected to press Snap on issues including why it has branded itself as a camera company when it does not centre on selling hardware, but sharing photos.
预计投资者将追问Snap的问题会包括，为什么它自称为一家相机公司？毕竟该公司的主营业务不是销售硬件，而是分享照片。
Reporting by Hannah Kuchler in San Francisco, Nicole Bullock in New York and Jennifer Thompson in London
汉娜?库赫勒(Hannah Kuchler)旧金山，尼科尔?布洛克(Nicole Bullock)纽约和珍妮弗?汤普森(Jennifer Thompson)伦敦补充报道