Airbnb raises $3.5 bn in above-range IPO

SAN FRANCISCO: Airbnb Inc. priced its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) above a marketed range to raise about $3.5 billion, seizing on investor demand for a home-rental business roaring back from a pandemic-fueled slump.

The company’s IPO came just hours after DoorDash Inc. almost doubled from its listing price in its debut trading session, adding to a flurry of consumer-facing web-based companies going public this month.

Airbnb and its investors sold about 52 million shares Wednesday for $68 each after marketing them for $56 to $60 apiece, it said in a statement confirming an earlier Bloomberg report. At that price, Airbnb has a fully diluted value of about $47 billion, which includes employee stock options and restricted stock units.

Airbnb’s listing adds to what was already a record year for IPOs, with more than $163 billion raised on US exchanges, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.