Airbnb Inc expects to raise up to $3.09 billion in a stock market launch later this week after boosting its price range, capping a stunning recovery in its fortunes after it was heavily damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year.
The US home rental firm plans to sell 51.6 million shares at between $56 and $60 apiece, it said in a regulatory filing on Monday December 7. It had earlier targeted a price range of between $44 and $50 per share for 51.9 million shares.
At the upper end of the new range, Airbnb would have a fully diluted valuation, which includes securities such as options and restricted stock units, of $41.8 billion.
This is well above the $18 billion Airbnb was worth in an April private fundraising round in the early weeks of the pandemic in the US, and above the $31 billion in its last pre-coronavirus fundraising in 2017.
Its market capitalisation at the top end of the range would be approximately $35.8 billion.
Airbnb struggled in the immediate aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak as travel came to a grinding halt. But as lockdowns eased, more travellers opted to book homes instead of hotels, helping Airbnb post a surprise profit for the third quarter.
The company's stock market debut will be one of the largest and most anticipated US IPOs of 2020, which has already been a bumper year for flotations.
Airbnb was launched in 2007 as a website to take bookings for rooms during conferences, including the Democratic National Convention that year in Denver.
Some of Airbnb's other investors include Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher, as well as buyout firms General Atlantic and TPG.
Lead Underwriters For The IPO
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are the lead underwriters for the IPO.
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