Airbnb, the $25.5 billion short-term rental colossus, just raised $1 billion in debt to fuel an expansion.
JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and other banks all participated in the deal.
Similar large debt deals have in the past been preludes to initial public offerings, as with Facebook, which borrowed about $8 billion from a group of banks in 2012, some of which participated in its subsequent IPO.
The money loan to Airbnb will go towards a global growth push as well as forays into non-room-rental business lines such as travel services, Bloomberg reported.
Here in New York, a bill seeking stringent regulations on the service sponsored by Assembly member Linda Rosenthal is moving through committee. If enacted, the bill would whole units listings on the site for terms of less than 30 days. Such rentals are currently illegal under the state’s Multiple Dwelling Law, but make up a sizable chunk of Airbnb listings in the city.
Airbnb is mobilizing to oppose the bill, with several members of one of the service’s “Home Sharing Clubs” demonstrating this week in front of Rosenthal’s Upper West Side office. [Bloomberg] — Ariel Stulberg