One of the year's most anticipated IPOs was completed yesterday, and it left Wall Street impressed.
Airbnb Inc shares more than doubled at the opening bell making it the largest non – SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) IPO of the year. At the Nasdaq opening bell, Airbnb opened at $146, topping the $68 per share, which brought $3.5 billion for the company.
Overall, Airbnb Inc.'s fully diluted valuation exceeds $100.7 billion, more than fivefold than valued in April in a private fundraising round. In the past quarter, as the pandemic’s effects started to wear off, travelers opted for rentals instead of hotels. The San Francisco-based company reported a surge in demand for homes away from major cities.
Airbnb’s initial market capitalization of $86.5 billion eclipsed its competitors Booking Holdings Inc and hotel chain Marriott International Inc.
Sources: marketwatch.com, reuters.com
