Airbnb Inc said it sold shares in its initial public offering (IPO) at $68 apiece, above its targeted price range, to raise around $3.5 billion.
The IPO gives Airbnb a fully diluted valuation, which includes securities such as options and restricted stock units, of $47.3 billion, capping a turnaround in fortunes for the US home rental firm that was hit hard by travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Airbnb had planned to sell around 51 million shares at $56 to $60 apiece, after raising this range from an earlier target of $44 to $50 per share.
Airbnb’s IPO is the biggest by a US operating company in 2020 in what has been an active year for US listings, with the likes of tech companies DoorDash Inc and Snowflake Inc going public.
The share offering also marks a dramatic comeback for Airbnb after it suffered a sharp drop in bookings and an increase in cancellations as the coronavirus spread across the world nine months ago, forcing governments to impose travel bans and mandate social distancing guidelines.
In April, Airbnb raised $1 billion from private equity firms Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners as it sought to boost its cash reserves amid a decline in revenue. That fundraising valued Airbnb at $18 billion, below its $26 billion valuation in early March before the pandemic began, a source told Reuters.
Airbnb had also launched a string of cost-cutting measures, including pausing hiring, suspending marketing activities, and slashing executive pay, in an effort to save up to $800 million this year, sources told Reuters.
