Airbnb has confirmed in a media statement that it has submitted a draft registration to the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering.
The group's much-hyped public listing, widely expected before the coronavirus pandemic broke out, will likely start rolling as soon as the SEC finalizes its evaluation process, which is dependent on various terms of the market and other factors, the media release disclosed.
The space-rental company confirmed the news Wednesday but did not specify any financial information regarding the listing nor the volume of shares it would initially offer. The planned public listing is expected to be managed by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Sources who asked not to be named said Airbnb may likely list on the NASDAQ. But it is not yet clear if Airbnb will pick the exchange as it could still choose to join the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Airbnb is among the highly expected listings of 2020. Brian Chesky, Chief Executive Officer, had initially planned to file the paperwork with the SEC on March 31 – before COVID-19 caused borders to be shut, global aviation to be suspended, and triggered massive job losses. Airbnb suffered over $1 billion in cancellations because of the global health crisis and was forced to cancel all its plans.
Airbnb has stated it could proceed with the IPO by the end of 2020, regardless of its 40 percent retreat in market valuation in the last three years, reports said. As of 2017, Airbnb was worth around $31 billion. This year, it is only worth a little over $17 billion.
Airbnb scrambled to raise around $2 billion in loans at high interest, including security to stakeholders that when exercised would give the group an $18 billion market value. Airbnb laid off a quarter of its headcount last April, or 1,900 workers, of its 7,500-workforce in 12 nations.
