Short-term home rental company Airbnb Inc said on Wednesday it filed confidentially to an initial public offering with U.S. regulators, setting the platform for one of 2020's marquee U.S. stock market debuts.
The move underscores a rebound in areas of the travel industry, which was battered this year by restrictions and shutdowns because of this COVID-19 pandemic.
San Francisco-based Airbnb stated in July that customers had reserved more than 1 million nights in a single afternoon for the first time since March 3, in part as U.S. travelers shy away from hotels and prefer to drive to local vacation rentals.
Shares of U.S. online travel agency Booking Holdings Inc have rebounded around 14 percent in the previous three months but are down for the year.
Companies can confidentially submit an IPO registration with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. If Airbnb goes forward with the IPO, the filing would be made public closer to the period of the listing.
The amount of shares Airbnb will market as well as the evaluation it will search haven't yet been determined, Airbnb stated in a statement.
Airbnb didn't give a deadline for when it might finish its IPO. The business is targeting a record prior to the close of the year, according to a individual familiar with the subject, cautioning that is dependant on market terms.
The collapse of Airbnb's core home-rental company on account of this COVID-19 pandemic had motivated Airbnb to suspend advertising activities for the entire year and reduce about 25 percent of its workforce.
The organization in April also raised $2 billion in debt from shareholders, which valued it at $18 billion, well under the $26 billion Airbnb cited as an internal evaluation in early March.
"The company may be thinking that the lost value they have realized in 2020 may be viewed as a public business and that will be reflected at the upside in their stock price," said Andrea Walne, general partner at Manhattan Venture Partners, an Airbnb investor.
Airbnb's choice to go public came as U.S. capital markets platform a magnificent recovery, together with the likes of internet used auto seller Vroom Inc and business intelligence platform ZoomInfo Technologies Inc visiting their shares surge after going public.
"We believe that investors are ready to look beyond COVID issues and value companies based upon post-COVID situations.
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc are direct advisers on the IPO