Airbnb ended up raising $3.5 billion, in one of the most anticipated initial public offerings of the year.
The home-sharing network sold 51,551,723 Class A shares at $68 each, a person familiar with the situation said. This implies a market cap of $47 billion.
The $68 price is above the $56 to $60 price range the company set earlier this week, and higher than prior expectations of $44 to $50. Airbnb will trade Thursday on the Nasdaq under the symbol ABNB. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are lead underwriters on the deal.
Airbnb stock opened at $146 after it first indicated to open at $139 a share this morning. Shares closed at $144.71, up 112.8%.
At $3.5 billion, the offering ranks as the third-biggest IPO of the year, according to Dealogic. It’s also bigger than the $3.4 billion raised by DoorDash on Tuesday. Including the so-called green shoe, the number of shares sold to underwriters, Airbnb will have raised $3.7 billion.
Airbnb lets users rent their apartments or homes for short- or long-term stays. The San Francisco company is expected to benefit when travel demand rebounds in 2021, while margins will gain from efforts to control costs imposed as a result of the pandemic, according to Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell, who last week picked up coverage of Airbnb with an Overweight rating and $75 price target.
Sequoia Capital will own 16.4% of total voting power after the offering, according to a prospectus. Brian Chesky, Airbnb CEO and co-founder, will have 15.1%. Co-founders Nathan Blecharczyk and Joseph Gebbia will each have 13.9%.
Hydrofarm Holdings Group is also on trap to trade Thursday. The company raised $173 million late Wednesday, when it sold 8,666,667 shares at $20 each, above its expected price range. The pricing came after Hydrofarm boosted its range Wednesday to $17 to $18, up from its prior expectations of $14 to $16. Hydrofarm will trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol HYFM.
J.P. Morgan and Stifel are lead underwriters on the deal.