Airbnb sets IPO terms sending valuation as high as $35 billion

Airbnb Inc. on Tuesday said it plans to sell 50 million shares in an initial public offering that could give the home-rental company a valuation of as much as $35 billion.

The San Francisco startup said it expects an offering price of between $44 and $50 a share, adding that a pricing at the $47 midpoint of that range would yield net proceeds of about $2.3 billion, or roughly $2.5 billion if the underwriters exercise an option to buy an additional 3.5 million shares.

Airbnb said co-founders Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk are selling about 1.9 million shares in the offering, bringing the total size of the IPO to 51.9 million shares.

The trio, who launched the startup in 2008, will still hold nearly 43% of Airbnb’s voting power after the offering, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Airbnb said it would have roughly 601.4 million shares outstanding after the IPO, assuming exercise of the overallotment option, for a valuation topping $30 billion at the $50 high end of the expected pricing range.

On a fully diluted basis, including stock options, restricted stock units and proceeds from the offering, that figure rises to about $34.8 billion.

On Sunday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Airbnb planned to target a range greater than the $30 billion people close to the offering had expected.

DoorDash Inc. on Monday unveiled details of its planned IPO that could value the food-delivery company at up to $32 billion.

Airbnb said it has applied to list its shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol ABNB.

Source: WSJ