Airbnb plans to file a confidential complaint with the SEC this month to go public, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to CNBC.
Shares could start at the end of the year. Airbnb declined to comment.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the news of their brand debut.
The company was expected to go public earlier this year, but put those plans on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic and laid off 25% of its staff, or roughly 1,900 employees, to cut costs. At the time, CEO Brian Chesky told employees that their 2020 revenue would be less than half of what the company would earn in 2019.
The pandemic has been a huge obstacle for the short-term rental business to overcome as it devastated the travel and hospitality industry.
Airbnb’s private valuation has dropped to $ 18 billion, down from the $ 31 billion figure when it raised a round of funding in 2017. The company also raised $ 1 billion in capital and debt from Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners in April to get through the crisis. It raised another billion dollars a week later from Fidelity, T. Rowe Price and Blackrock.
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