Airbnb said to delay IPO filing to distance it from US election
New York
AIRBNB'S long-awaited filing for an initial public offering (IPO) has slipped to next week, said people with knowledge of the matter.
The home-share giant's public filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission could come as soon as Monday, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information was not public.
The company, which had earlier intended to file on Thursday, decided on a delay to keep it from being overshadowed by the fallout from the US election, one of the people said.
While Joe Biden is recognised as the president-elect and is moving ahead with plans for a transition, US President Donald Trump continues to dispute the election's outcome and has refused to concede.
Airbnb could still adjust its plans again, the people said. The timing is not an indication of market responses or regulatory hurdles.
GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Airbnb is planning to raise as much as US$3 billion in a Nasdaq debut, Bloomberg News has reported. That would make it one of the largest IPOs on a New York exchange this year.
Companies, including special purpose acquisition vehicles, have raised US$140 billion through first-time share sales in the United States this year, making 2020 a record for fundraising, data compiled by Bloomberg shows.
This year, as the coronavirus pandemic shut down global travel, Airbnb saw its bookings plummet and revenue tumble. The company cut a quarter of its staff in May with reservations down 70 per cent from a year earlier.
Airbnb bounced back faster than expected over the summer. In June, bookings were down only 30 per cent compared with the same month in 2019.
The surge in demand was driven by travellers seeking nearby vacation rentals to escape shuttered cities and take advantage of remote work policies. BLOOMBERG
KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Technology
Meta’s results are best viewed through rose-tinted AI glasses
'Harvesting data': Latin American AI startups transform farming
After long peace, Big Tech faces US antitrust reckoning
Tech’s cash crunch sees creditors turn ‘violent’ with one another
Tech millionaires chase billionaire tax shields with ‘swap fund’
Elon Musk’s Starlink profits are more elusive than investors think