According to experts, the Airbnb room mediation platform is valued at $ 47.3 billion (€ 39.06 billion) when it goes public. The stock sold at $ 68, above the target price range, a person familiar with the matter said that night. This brings Airbnb around $ 3.5 billion. Today, the American company will make its debut on the Nasdaq technology exchange, making it the largest initial public offering in the United States this year.

US food delivery service DoorDash only earned this title Wednesday with an IPO.

After the outbreak of the corona pandemic, which resulted in a drastic decline in the number of bookings and countless cancellations, Airbnb’s valuation in the latest round of funding had dropped to $ 18 billion in April. The San Francisco-based company is currently suffering from travel restrictions and hygiene regulations, but is weathering the crisis better than initially expected, as people, when traveling today, like to turn to private accommodations to have fewer contacts. In 2017, Airbnb was valued at $ 31 billion. According to insiders, the company has been keeping a close eye on costs since the outbreak of the pandemic, imposed a hiring freeze and shut down marketing. So the goal is to save $ 800 million this year. Surprisingly to analysts, Airbnb made a profit of nearly $ 220 million in the third quarter, just slightly less than in the same period last year.

Airbnb was founded in 2008 by Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia as a portal for conference room brokers. Investors include Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, but also Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher, as well as General Atlantic and TPG.

From: APA / Reuters