Airbnb seeks to increase fundraising round to US$1b

[SAN FRANCISCO] Airbnb Inc authorised the sale of an additional US$153 million in equity, bringing the size of its current fundraising effort to about US$1 billion.

The financing values the home-rental startup at about US$30 billion, people familiar with the matter have said. The additional equity was disclosed in a securities filing Friday, according to research firm CB Insights. Airbnb declined to comment.

Airbnb has sold at least US$556 million in shares as part of the recent fundraising, according to a regulatory filing in September. Investors in the round include Alphabet Inc investment arm CapitalG and Technology Crossover Ventures, people familiar with the matter said at the time.

Since its founding in 2008, Airbnb has raised more than US$3 billion in equity, according to private stock market provider Equidate. The company secured a US$1 billion debt facility this year from banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp and Morgan Stanley.

The company also used some of its capital this year to buy back shares from Morgan Stanley.

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