WSJ -By Rolfe Winkler, Douglas Macmillan and Maureen Farrell – Airbnb Inc. lined up investors for a new funding round and an employee stock sale that will value the room-rental website at up to $30 billion and help defer an initial public offering, said people familiar with the matter.
The San Francisco company plans to raise between $500 million and $1 billion from more than a half dozen large, investors in the coming weeks, the people said. The deal is expected to value Airbnb at about $30 billion, up from $25.5 billion a year ago.
One of the people familiar with the deal later clarified the company expects to raise up to $750 million.
In a separate transaction, investors are planning to buy about $200 million in stock from Airbnb employees, one person said. Because those investors will be purchasing common shares, rather than preferred shares which grant certain investor protections, the employee stock sale is expected to value Airbnb at less than $30 billion, the people said.
That transaction could value Airbnb as low as $25 billion, one of the people familiar with the deal said.
Airbnb has already selected investors and expects both deals to close this summer. It is unlikely to pursue an IPO in 2016 or 2017 as it continues to expand aggressively, the person said.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Airbnb projected an operating loss of about $150 million last year. The company also told prospective investors last year that it expected to achieve $3 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by 2020.
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