Short-term home rental company Airbnb said on Wednesday it filed confidentially for an initial public offering with US regulators, setting the stage for one of 2020’s marquee stock market debuts.
The move underscores a rebound in parts of the travel industry, which was battered this year by restrictions and shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
San Francisco-based Airbnb said in July that customers had booked more than a million nights in a single day for the first time since 3 March, in part as US travellers shy away from hotels and prefer to drive to local holiday rentals.
Shares of US online travel agency Booking Holdings have rebounded around 14% in the past three months but are still down for the year.
Companies can confidentially submit an IPO registration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. If Airbnb moves forward with the IPO, the filing would be made public closer to the time of the listing.
The number of shares Airbnb will sell and the valuation it will seek have not yet been determined, Airbnb said in a statement. It did not give a timeline for when it may complete its IPO.
The company is targeting a listing before the end of the year, according to a person familiar with the matter, cautioning this is dependent on market conditions.
– Parrot Nigeria.