(Reuters) - Snap Inc , owner of popular messaging app Snapchat, raised $3.4 billion in its initial public offering on Wednesday, more than it had sought, in the most eagerly awaited technology IPO since Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba went public in 2014.
The successful IPO pricing clears a major hurdle for Snap, which will go public without having yet turned a profit. The company's losses widened last year, and it is experiencing decelerating user growth in the face of intense competition from larger rivals such as Facebook .
Despite the challenges in converting "cool" into cash, Snap clinched a valuation of $24 billion, the richest valuation in a U.S. tech IPO since Facebook in 2012. It will list on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Snap priced 200 million shares on Wednesday night at $17 per share, above its indicated range of $14 to $16 dollars a share.
(Reporting by Lauren Hirsch in New York; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
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