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Save the date: Airbnb may go public in 2018
CEO Brian Chesky says $31B company is halfway through two-year prep
After nearly 10 years of business, Airbnb finally set an approximate date to go public.
CEO Brian Chesky said on Monday that the company is on pace to launch an initial public offering in 2018, the New York Post reported.
“We are halfway through the two-year process of getting ready to go public,” Chesky said during an event at the Economic Club of New York at the New York Stock Exchange.
The short-term rental company, valued at $31 billion, brought in $1 billion during its latest round of fundraising. China’s sovereign wealth fund, the China Investment Corporation, contributed roughly 10 percent of that funding haul.
Airbnb has started making moves to expand its business to travel, long-term rentals and other arenas. In February, the company acquired Montreal-based Luxury Retreats, a luxury vacation-rental service. Bloomberg reported in February that Airbnb had $3 billion in cash that it was looking to spend on acquiring other companies, such as travel booking websites.
“I want to sell end-to-end trips where the home will be the minority of what we do,” Chesky said. [NYP] — Kathryn Brenzel