Airbnb mulling direct listing instead of traditional IPO

Thursday, 02 Oct, 2019 0

Airbnb Inc is still planning to go public next year but could take a different route than a traditional IPO.

The San Francisco-based home sharing unicorn could opt for a direct listing rather than an initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company has so far made no comment on the issue.

For a company under no pressure to raise extra funds, a direct listing has several advantages.

It removes the need to open its books to investors and the large fees demanded from firms to underwrite a IPO.

A direct listing doesn’t issue new shares so gives employees and early investors a chance to cash out.

Other tech firms which have gone for a direct listing include Slack Technologies and Spotify.

The experiences of newly public Uber, Lyft and the current travails of WeWork show that there is still massive scepticism in traditional IPOs for loss making Silicon Valley firms even though Airbnb is in much better shape financially.

"Given the struggles so many tech companies have had in the past year and a half, it’s not shocking they might want to try something different," former Uber political adviser Bradley Tusk said.

below social share icons

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

If you’re thinking of cruising, there’s a very good chance you’re considering a Carnival cruise. Growing since our founding in...

IHG Hotels & Resorts: Redefining Hospitality Excellence IHG Hotels & Resorts is a globally renowned hospitality company that stands at...

AXA Assistance specializes in best-in-class cost containment, health and travel services. Over 60 years of experience combined with a US and...

Since its launch in 1999, TravelMole.com has become, one of the largest global online travel industry communities. It is comprised...

River cruising is a treat for the senses, allowing you to see, touch, feel and experience the world like never...

Consisting of the three Maritime provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island as well as Newfoundland and...

Here at Elegant Resorts, luxury travel is in our DNA. True pioneers in the industry, we were the first specialist...

We are the UK’s leading Canada travel experts Canadian Affair Company Information Founded in 1995, Canadian Affair offers an...

Nium was founded on the mission to build the global payments infrastructure of tomorrow, today. With the onset of the on-demand...

Jet2.com is the UK’s third largest airline, flying from ten UK airports to more than 60 destinations across Europe and beyond....

At Visit California, our mission is to develop and maintain marketing programs – in partnership with the state’s travel industry...

Family-owned Olympic Holidays has been arranging holidays to Greece, the Greek islands and Cyprus for more than half century. The company is unrivalled...