The American hotel and home rental platform, Airbnb is aiming for a valuation of up to $34.8 in its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO), according to the updated regulatory filing.
The company’s IPO is one of the most awaited IPOs of 2020 in the United States. Airbnb made its IPO filing public in November, which also gave potential investors an insight into the financial details of the company. Now the updated regulatory filing on Tuesday, shows that the company is seeking to raise about 2.6 billion in the initial share offering, which can potentially value the company up to $35 billion.
The company plans to sell 51.9 million shares for a price range between $44 and $50 per share. The founders, Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk, will sell about $100 million worth of shares in the IPO launch.
Due to the lockdown measures all over the world and the fear surrounding the COVID-19 virus, the hotel and booking market saw a sudden decline at the start of this year. After being severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, Airbnb had to lay off 25% of its staff in May. The company made a surprising recovery during the third quarter, which was apparent in the financial numbers published in its IPO filing.
Reuters, at the time of reporting Airbnb’s plan to go public, noted that the company can receive a valuation of over $30 billion. The prediction might very well turn out to be correct, if the company gets valued at $34.8 billion, which Airbnb is targeting.
Airbnb’s market cap at $50 per share would equal to $29.8 billion. Co-founder Brian Chesky’s share would be valued at about $3.8 billion. The other two co-founders, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk’s stake would be worth about $3.5 billion each. Sequoia Capital, one of the company’s early investors, will have a higher share value than each founder, as its stake would be worth more than $4 billion.
The company, originally founded in 2008, has since grown tremendously. Airbnb achieved “unicorn” status in 2011, after it was valued for more than $1 billion in a funding round. The company’s IPO this year would be one of the biggest among the likes of Warner Music Group. Airbnb’s IPO will also serve as another landmark in its remarkable recovery this year.
