In a statement, the San Francisco-based firm revealed that it has provided the SEC with a draft of its proposal for an Initial Public Offering, the number and price of which “remains to be determined.”
The Airbnb vacation rental platform announced on Wednesday that it has confidentially submitted the necessary documentation for an IPO to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In a brief statement, the San Francisco-based firm revealed that it has submitted to the SEC a draft with its proposal for an initial public offering of common shares, the number and price of which “is to be determined” and which the stock regulator has to review.
Airbnb’s IPO had been rumoured for a long time and last April its CEO, Brian Chesky, said in an interview that the company was preparing the process when the pandemic hit, with a great impact on international tourism, and forced postpone plans.
The company announced in May the dismissal of 1,900 employees, around 25% of its workforce, and also reduced its investment and paralyzed projects in its hotel, luxury experiences, transportation and audiovisual productions divisions as a result of the stoppage in the tourist activities.
However, Airbnb has managed to float since the spring due to the increase in reservations of accommodation in rural areas of the United States by citizens who wanted to escape from large cities affected by the pandemic.
“Working from home is becoming work from any home,” Chesky said in another interview in June, explaining that the trend was also taking place in other markets such as Germany, Portugal, South Korea and New Zealand.
Airbnb’s IPO has been highly anticipated by analysts in recent years, along with other firms in the so-called collaborative economy, such as driver- driven transport companies Uber and Lyft, for being considered a “unicorn”, with a valuation more than $ 1 billion.
In April, the firm was valued at about $ 18 billion, but that figure is almost half of a previous estimate that estimated its value at $ 31 billion.
